New Paths, Open Roads
by Nicx Vee
Summary: AU. It started with the fourth's plan to seal the Kyuubi before it reached Konoha...when did everything get so complicated? Naruto never asked for all this, but trouble always followed those who walked down this path. Watch as his destiny unfolds.Not Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone thanks for reading my first fic. Please point out any grammar or spelling errors that I may have missed. Aslo if some things are unclear don't be afraid to ask. I would love to recieve any constructive criticism, I won't get any better without it.**

**For those of you who want to, I have posted the link to my livejournal on my bio. Sometimes I post my ideas on their so check it out sometime if you get curious.**

**UPDATE: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED AS OF 3/26/08. The information is basically the same, I just fixed it up a bit and changed the words around.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I'm 99.9 percent sure I never will**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

In the wreckage of a great battle over two powers emerged a lone survivor, a baby no more than a month old lay crying within his bundled blankets and the white cloak that was spread onto the floor underneath him.

The battle itself was a clash between titans. One fighting to protect and the other fighting in a haze to destroy. A human against a demon, both powerful among their own.

The difference between the two powers was too great however. The blond man's only option to save everything he hold dear was to seal his opponent away. At the cost of his own soul, the demon was imprisoned into the body of this man's only child.

The child was destined to walk one of many paths. Each in their own way would leave a lasting impact on the world. A savoir, a nightmare, only time would tell.

His father would never know what to expect when his performed the ritual. It just needed to be done, without it his home, village, people, and son, would not survive to live another day.

* * *

The Man's actions were still unknown to his village. In fact they had simply thought that he was once again at his home mourning the loss of both his deceased wife and a son that they hadn't known survived. It had been near a month since the supposed death of the man's future family, since then the man had only to finish his daily tasks, before leaving.

The Village's Council was currently in panic trying to find a solution to the probable destruction that would soon be caused by the Kyuubi demon. Not that they had anything to worry about anymore, but they still didn't know that.

Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage and preceder of the Yondaime, was looking on, watching the chaos. He still was of great importance to the village, personal advisor to the current leader himself, well former now. Sarutobi had a gut feeling there was more to the disappearance of his successor Minato Namikaze, and it was far too strong to pass off as simple indigestion.

No matter how much Minato was heartbroken about the death of his loved ones, he would not let that cloud his judgment for the well being of the village. The Sandaime had his fears that the man would go so far as sacrificing himself to rid the village of the threat before it came upon Konoha's Gates. The death of his wife and unborn child would be more than enough to entice him into the shinigami's open arms. The Old Man had no clue how right he was.

With a deep sigh he massaged his temples, with retirement all this was supposed to go away, but he should have known that the only escape was death. Reaching into his gray robes, he pulled out a bottle of Sake. It had been a few years now since he gave up his Kage robes and now he donned robes similar to the ones he had worn when teaching his students, although these were a lot more formal in lieu to his importance in the inner workings of the village. The sake however wasn't widely accepted to drink in front of the 'Honorable Council'. Well, the council could careless at the moment what their former leader was drinking and there was no way that he would survive this whole mess sane without the mind numbing effects of alcohol.

* * *

The clash had been over for hours, and the shrill cries and been reduced to soft whimpers. Countless dangers posed the child as he lay alone in the night. The warzone he had been left in was miles away from any form of civilization.

The destruction was all over and yet at the same time it had missed a lot of things that could have been hit. A den filled with fox cubs, a branch where oddly silent baby birds sat not chirping a peep, and various other potential targets were missed. All that was left of the two actual combatants was the once billowing coat of the famous leader of Konoha. It lay under the child, who was currently flailing its limbs in desperate attempts for anyone to take him into their arms. Dressed for warmth the child wore thick layers of a onesie, but in the center of his stomach the cloth was singed and burned into a an odd pattern of an eight pointed seal. The intricate design was starting to fade off the sensitive skin of the baby's flesh, but the evidence was in the clothing. On his cheeks were three whisker marks on each side, showing the world what he now carried inside.

If there was another human around they would feel the surging of chakra surrounding the whimpering infant. Its red glow came in periodic bursts lighting up the starry sky.

* * *

The Kyuubi no Kitsune lifted his heavy eyelids. Briefly he wondered what the hell happened to him, his memory was blurry, but he could he sworn he was fighting against a man with blond hair. Wait. Man? As in human?

He faded in and out of consciousness, trying to remember exactly where he was for the umpteenth time and where was the human he fought. Why was there a human around anyways? Demons haven't willingly made contact with their kind in over a hundred years.

The darkness was getting stronger, he was losing consciousness again. Did he go drinking? Why did he feel so week and frail? How was he on his back? What happened to his tails?

'_Where am I?'_

* * *

A young ANBU captain watched the rapidly growing chaos of the council chamber, his sensei should have had enough time by now. It had been exactly nine hours since he had left and now it was the dead of night, the baby would need to be retrieved soon if it were to survive.

He was Hatake Kakashi, sole son of Hatake Sakumo, the once famous White Fang of Konoha. Now he was the sole live member of Team Minato. A tear almost escaped his only uncovered eye, but he quickly suppressed it. Sensei wouldn't want him to cry, and he had a responsibility to fulfill as soon as the signal was given.

His sensei's son had managed to survive his traumatic birth, even if his mother did not. They had changed the information to show that both had perished during the delivery. Assassination would ensue if the boy's existence did not remain hidden. His premature birth had left him weak for the first few weeks, making him even more of a sitting target. Only two people knew of the boy's existance, the boy's father and his student Kakashi.

When word had reached Konoha of the Kyuubi, they had only three days before the estimated destruction of the village. Plans made by the council were either suicidal or not plausible. Minato's only option was to seal it away.

Kakashi had tried to beg his sensei not to do it, telling him that he would leave his own son an orphan, that the child did not deserve to be burdened and left all alone without the warmth that only a parent could possibly give.

There was an unspoken, 'you'll leave me all alone too' that hung in the air during his speech to his sensei. Minato had simply smiled sadly at him and put a comforting arm around the boys shoulders telling him that there was no other way and that neither of them would be alone as long as they had each other.

In his own way the Yondaime of the leaf had given Kakashi a silent request, '_Watch over him in my place_'. His student's only outward reaction was the smile, visible even through his mask and the gentle grasping of the sleeping infants hand. A promise was made with those simple actions, and Hatake Kakashi would not break it without a fight.

He didn't stall his sensei any longer and the man left after explaining to the boy his part in the plan, and wished him happy life. Minato had not said goodbye, only a gave him a "We'll see each other again, but that better be a long time from now."

And hopefully they would meet, decades later when Kakashi himself would already be a wrinkly old crone.

* * *

Red eyes opened again. He could hear the dripping of water, from where though? He didn't know. It was dark, there was only a dim light allowing him to see the through the darkness a bit. The damp puddles of water made him wonder if he was in a sewer, but he quickly dismissed the thought, it didn't smell that bad wherever he was.

He tried to get up, but failed. Looking at his hand he didn't see the paws that he knew he had. Instead there were five clawed fingers. The hand looked almost human, but that couldn't be. Could it?

Kyuubi just lay there staring at the ceiling. His movements were limited to the turning of his head and the twitching of his fingers. Slowly it was coming back to him though. His lost chakra was coming back to him ever so slowly. In a few hours he was able to sit up, but relied on metal bars of the structure to keep himself upright. Was he captured? Impossible. Who would be stupid enough to do that?

'_Just how much longer now till I can stand?. Pitiful, I'm reduced to nothing. Super regeneration my ass._' Growling in irritation he raised his head slowly from against the bars to look around again. There was a bit more light now. It was a shade of eerie red, like that of a dark room. The source he found was a piece of parchment in the middle of the cage doors.

A seal.

If only he could study it, perhaps he could removie it and escape.

* * *

The council had been carefully going over their options. Some thought it would be best to just charge the beast with every able shinobi. That plan was immediately marked as suicidal and only to be used as a last resort. Evacuation was another option, but it was impossible to move a village of their size in such a short time. Especially when their neighboring nations were still on rocky terms with them.

Soon aggravation set in and shouts were being exchanged.

_That's suicide!_

_Impossible!_

_Where's the dam Hokage!_

_Restrain yourselves!_

Right before punches would be thrown a toad hopped in from a window and landed in front of the now more than tipsy Sandaime. It was about three and a half tall with a scroll attached to its back. Half of the council noticed it the other half was in too much of a heated argument.

A very pissed off Akimichi clan head was about to charge at another man who did not only insult his proposal of evacuation, but his round stature as well. Before his enlarged fist made contact, a long elastic toad's tounge wrapped around it. Instead of crushing a skull the fist impacted a wall instead cauing it to crumble.

Succeeding in stopping the fight the toad released the man and looked about the chamber. His arrival had caught the attention of the others and there was silence. The toad dropped the scroll it had been carrying off its back and lifted it up to the Sandaime with his tongue.

The yellow and green amphibian gave the semi-buzzed man a mock salute before shifting his position. It squatted patiently waiting for his job to be complete.

* * *

The surging of chakra around the boy had started to dissipate and the wailing from the child had ceased a while ago. Blue eyes opened and met the night sky. The infant was oddly quiet for his age, perhaps it was the sealing that had taken all his energy, or that he just didn't have any tears left to cry.

There was no blood on the battle field oddly enough, the only indication that there was even fighting here to begin with was the destruction of few trees and shrubbery near where child now lay.

Breezes of the nightly air ruffled the infant's blond hair. The air was oddly warm and comforting, seemingly trying to lull the child into sleep. Slowly the crickets started to chirp again and the eerie quiet of a warzone was broken. The baby cooed and gurgled finding peace in the sounds of nature.

Nature responded to his voice by slowly rebuilding itself around the boy. A soft green glow could be seen in the darkness where the broken branches were repaired, and the singed earth re-grew green grass.

The battlefield was now just another clearing in the forest that encircled Konoha.

* * *

Sarutobi read the scroll once. Twice. Three times, and he still couldn't believe what it had said. The old man looked at his sake bottle oddly wondering if it had caused the obvious illusion. Though judging by the odd stares he was receiving from the council he was pretty sure that it wasn't a dream, he never had a dream that the figure heads appeared in, a nightmare once in a while, but not a dream.

It was to real to be a dream anyways, and in some ways to unreal.

Minato had left him behind a huge headache, not only did he have to explain this to just about everyone else in the village, but he would probably have to don the hokage robes once again.

He picked up his saucer and filled it to the brim with sake, before chugging it down in one gulp, not caring what the others thought. This whole ordeal would be easier to accomplish while not sober.

A silver haired ANBU watched the former Hokage chug the sake like water, and figured that it was a good as time as any to reveal his involvement. Removing his mask Kakashi stepped out of the shadows to face the music.

'_I hope everything went well sensei'_

* * *

**Well everybody how'd that go? Please review and tell me if I missed any spelling or grammar mistakes or if anything I describe is unclear.**

**Okay now that you've read that here's are the real dilemmas I'm facing:**

**What to do with Naruto, I can see this going a billion ways, but I want to hear your opinions. Please try and think of things creative, not a 'Naruto gets adopted by (Hyuuga/Uchiha) clan and becomes super powerful, joins ANBU at 10.**

**Something rare, I'll try to stay away from OCs, but this story is already leaning toward the AU side so I won't make any promises. There will probably be OCs in the story somewhere but will most likely be minor characters that will most likely get killed off or something. **

**I was thinking Kakashi, Kyuubi, or something new. Kyuubi would be an interesting thing to do, not sure how I will make that happen yet but I'm open to suggestions. Kakashi is more common, but I sort of set up a background for that, it can still be changed though.**

**Another area I'll be needing help in is pairings, if I make Naruto grow up either inside or outside Konoha I'm not sure who to pair him with or if there will be any pairing at all. Reasons are that the character development will be a bit off, so I'll have a hard time making it seem believable. Because I'll have to scrap practically all the relationships he's built up with people and create my own and that means any potential romance will have to be built from scratch.**

**To troublesome….maybe I should just have no pairings. Well there a few things I can assure you what you will not happen. There will not be any romance until he is like…I don't know in puberty? I will not write about children thinking about/doing things that no one really does (well the majority of people) till they at least hit 12. The pairing will NOT be NaruHina, sorry to fans of that pairing but it's way too overused. Lastly it will not be a Yaoi fic, don't really know how or want to write one. **

**Well, I think that covers the basics for now. Please when making a suggestion elaborate a bit so I will have an easier time planning it out. **

**Oh and expect slow updates of this for now, as I made it obviously clear (I hope) that I'm still not sure 100 percent sure of the plot, or at least how to begin it.**

**One last thing…Beta readers…right not sure how they work exactly but I have a pretty foggy idea of how they work. If you want to be one, then be my guest but I need you to explain to me what they do exactly and be patient with me.**

**Thanks to anyone who actually read that and even greater thanks to anyone who reviews or helps me out.**

**-Nicx Vee**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alrighty, I've got a firmer (and better) storyline in mind now, but I'm still taking ideas for those of you out there who have suggestions. I know I don't have much dialogue, but I'm just setting up the background information and I have to admit the mood for these past chapters is a bit…serious. I'll lighten up a bit, cause really I prefer a comedy. So just sit tight and bare with it for me.**

**Special thanks to 'dragon-zerox' for helping me out and sharing his ideas**

**UPDATE : THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED ON 3/26/08. Only grammar, spelling mistakes, and a bit of wording were fixed, basically the same main idea as before.**

**Disclaimer: I DON'T own Naruto **

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Light peered through the treetops, based on the sun's positioning it was a few hours past dawn. Creatures of the forest were already buzzing with activity. The trees and plants had started their ritual of creating nourishment from the abundant resources all around. Squirrels foraged, birds flew, predators hunted.

Among the peaceful scenery lay a child on the grass bedding of an open clearing. He lay naked as the day he was born and slept peacefully. The singes in the red and white garments he rested on suggested that there was a fire, whose only possible source could have been the infant child itself. Glinting, a silver chain was wrapped around the baby's neck.

Animals avoided the ominous source of energy that still surrounded the child. Something abnormal about the waves that had been released the night before had caused the rapid restoration of the former battlefield and it made them apprehensive.

It was as if nothing had occurred the previous night at all. Broken branches were repaired. Fallen trees re-grew. Scorched brush and grass healed and spread. Even the large paw impressions in the ground had leveled out and were now covered by layers of grass and flora.

At the same time the eerie chakra had drawn in a few of the more curious creatures, none however ventured close enough to touch the sleeping infant.

* * *

Sarutobi had finished reading the scroll that Minato had left for them. Most hadn't believed him at all. They demanded to read the scroll, and proof of its authenticity. It had been screened for any forgeries of genjutsu by each member before they had no other choice but to accept it as fact. It shocked the council so much that they had no choice but to sit there and let it sink in.

Silence.

As astounding as it was, the whole chamber was silent, not even the Aburame bugs could be heard buzzing. A complete difference of how everyone had been at each others throats the moments before.

He was dead. Their leader, Konoha's Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato was no longer among the living. A man that was once thought as indestructible, had been defeated by a demon. Some failed to notice that the demon had been defeated by the man as well. Their only thoughts were on the continued existance of the demon inside an infant.

Murmurs, whispers, questions started the noise once again. Soon the council started up once again, yelling just about everything under the sun that could have involved the blonde ex-Hokage. The ones who knew the man personally however bowed their heads in respect, honoring his sacrifice. There were even a few others believed that the Hokage made a foolish mistake, thinking that they could have still fought back and defeated the monster with a plan. (Right...)

All in all, they breathed easier, knowing that their ninja wouldn't have to be forced into an early grave along with half of the population. Problems were still there, that much was obvious, but everything else paled into comparison to the problems that would be there if the Kyuubi actually reached Konoha.

* * *

Darkness was growing within the cell. Whatever energy he had recovered was being sapped away from him. Now with barely any energy left the Kyuubi relied heavily on the support the bars of his cage gave him.

When the fox first opened his eyes he felt the leak of his chakra going through the seal. Only something was different, it was his chakra but it didn't contain the same quality as before. Calmess oozed from it and washed over him. Something he thought was impossible, demonic chakra usually reflected the user itself, and he could count the few times he felt the same level of passiveness that the chakra was currently radiating on one clawed hand.

When squinting he could see in the distance that the strange chakra was changing colors. More specifically it was turning purple, getting lighter and lighter till it stayed a very light blue. With his strong eyes he saw the tendrils of chakra separating and spreading in each and every direction pulsing and giving off a peaceful feeling.

Blue? That was the color of human chakra. If his chakra was being drained away and differencing into a shade of blue; it meant only one thing.

'_I've been sealed into a human.'_

That was the last thought on the demon fox's mind before the allure of darkness overtook him. For an unknown number of years the world would be dead to the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

* * *

One final flash of blinding light illuminated the thickets of the forest, unlike the previous waves this one was larger, and more potent, it gave off a light blue sheen, almost white. With it came serene sensation that blanketed almost all of the forest, lulling even the predators into placidity. In a blink of an eye, the blinding light disappeared, leaving only the fading feeling of calm.

A vacuum in the form of an infant claimed the mysterious power subconsciously. Siphoning the energy into his small body, it was locked away. The chakra however, did not go without leaving its mark. Former wisps of unruly blonde locks lightened to a shade of vibrant white. They lengthened and blew in the wind, falling just above his cerulean irises.

Inside the child's anatomy was changed, still recognizable as human, but not quite the same as any other. He had gone several long hours without food or nourishment, long enough to leave permanent damage. However, the alterations of his body's natural composition erased all traces of affliction and changed so much more.

* * *

'…_..I have chosen an orphan to bear the burden, his records have been destroyed. The boy was chosen at random for this task, and his life is as much of a sacrifice as mine. I have named him Uzumaki Naruto, honoring him with the name is the least I can do. I'd rather not have our hero be called something similar to 'Konoha orphan B-0421' until it recieves a random name off a list. Gracing the child with my own name would be sending him to an early grave. Uzumaki, is a name unknown to most, but I know a few of you will know of my intentions. He shall be seen not as a demon but a hero for his sacrifice and live a long and happy, carrying on the name with pride…'_

The scroll went on to say what to do with his possessions, how the seal basically functioned, and more parting words the Yondaime Hokage had left to Konoha. A note was written telling those that he should not be mourned because he only did what a leader should do to protect his people, and he would be in a better place with his deceased loved ones. There were also a few censored pieces of information sealed into the scroll that were solely for the viewing of his successor and his few trusted friends.

Only few on the council knew of the exact names of Yondaime's deceased family. Even fewer had known the couple on a personal level. A name like Namikaze would leave you prone to enemy attacks even while using the bathroom. Countless precautions were set for the safety of family members of a Kage, but that paled in to comparison to the lengths the Yondaime had gone through.

When they died though, he felt no need to hide their existence from everyone any longer.

The late Hokage owned a modest home, but it was notorious for its surrounding scenery. A garden that rivaled the beauty of Konoha itself bordered the safe haven. Near one of the cherry blossom groves a small slab of obsidian stone carved into the shape of a water droplet held the names of four individuals. Uchiha Obito, Yagura Rin, and the newly added names were of Namikaze Kunisha and Namikaze Arashi, soon there one more Namikaze name carved into the rock.

The body of elders began communing amongst themselves once again. Talking about what to do with the child, some still stuck on the topic about what they thought were foolish decisions made by their former Hokage. Panic almost started when someone voiced the question as to who would be take the blond's place.

However, before they could get any further the formerly masked ANBU stepped out of the shadows.

"_Honorable_ council, if I may, I think that we should go and retrieve the child Sensei has used for the sealing." Smirking under his mask as the realizations that hit some of the more oblivious members he continued. "Sensei has clearly wished for the boy to be safe, it wouldn't be good to let the wishes of a dead man remain ignored."

The silver haired man didn't wait for a reply, only pausing to give a nod to both the Sandaime and the summoned toad before he disappeared in a puff of smoke in search for the legacy of his sensei. The toad poofed out of existence shortly after the ANBUs departure.

And so the search for Uzumaki Naruto was on.

Inside the mind of the resident war hawk, gears turned, a maniacal grin almost split his face. Still it was repressed by his own will, careful not to be caught of his conniving schemes. Glancing with his one good eye Danzo peered at Sarutobi who was now organizing a group of ANBU to follow Kakashi in the search.

While the rest of the officials were busy debating how to solve the rest of their many problems, Danzo slipped out of the room getting ready to finally put his division of ROOT into the making, he did have the perfect first member after all.

* * *

Several barkings and yips of canines could be heard. They searched feverishly for the scent of Yondaime's only descendent. It seemed as if the scent had either disappeared or had changed. Was the latter even possible? Kakashi shook his head, he had been taught to think that nothing was impossible. Still it would be a whole lot easier to find the boy if he could track a scent. _'Maybe its just being masked, but by what?'_

His summons were looking everywhere. Approximately five hours had passed since they started searching. Sometimes he really wished his sensei would be more specific than 'I'll be heading east'. East where? Who knows how far that man had gotten? It was estimated that the Kyuubi was 3-days away from Konoha. No one knew the exact speed the creature was traveling at either.

He tried doing the math in his head. Kyuubi is 'X' days away from Konoha, traveling at 'Y' speeds. Minato had left 'Z' hours ago to perform the sealing. Subtract the distance traveled before the two met and Naruto should be...oh who was he kidding there was no way to solve that thing.

On the bright side, after he changed the situations a bit, that problem could be used in the next chuunin exam.

Kakashi shook his head again, he knew that wherever Naruto was, if he didn't get there soon the child could be...he didn't want to think about it. Time was of the essence, however long it took the Blond Hokage to travel, it would take Kakashi three times that amount, maybe more.

* * *

Teams of ANBU had been dispatched, most of whom composed of the best Inuzuka, Aburame, and Huugya trackers. They didn't know how far or how long it would take, but all that mattered was getting there ASAP. The Majority of the figure heads were a bit apprehensive on the action, but they would rather have the child in their control instead of risking an enemy getting to him first.

Talks had been started on who was to assume the role of Hokage. Even though the Sandaime was old, he was the only leader that would instill enough security through the village and the 'Professor' was currently the best qualified and widely known person here at the moment. No one knew how the other nations would react to the death of their strongest shinobi. It was better to put someone with a wide reputation, than one who was a minor smudge in a bingo book somewhere, enemies would be wary of attacking that way.

This act however upsetted Danzo. It made his actions all the more harder to put into motion. The peaceful Third wouldn't like the idea of building an ultimate ninja in order to dominate. He would find a way around this though... eventually.

Many decisions though, were still to be made, but the members were tired, they had stayed cooped up into the chamber of the Hokage tower for the last few days hastily trying to prepare for the Kyuubi attack. With the impending doom no longer looming over their heads, an agreement was reached that they would continue to decide a course of actions when the container was found and brought back to the village.

* * *

**Okay I know that was a little short, but felt that I should cut it off there for now. Really I wasn't too happy about how this chapter turned out, but eh…what's done is done. I won't make any promises but I'll try to have a new chapter out within the next two days.**

**Please send me your feedback on how you think the story is going on so far. Any ideas on how to move the plot along or anything are welcome.**

**I know it seems like Naruto is going to be super powerful in his younger days, but no he will not be a 12 year old Kage level ninja or impossible to defeat anytime soon. **

**As for Namikaze Arashi? Well you'll just have to wait for that, I chose that name because its already so popular. If anyone could guess what I'm planning to do, I'll give them a cookie.**

**I'm trying to write longer chapters, maybe I will as my experience with writing grows, but for now I'll be able to crank out short chapters pretty fast with no school and all. If enough people think that long chapters released once every week or two would be better than short chapters every few days, then I guess I can do that.**

_**-Nicx Vee**_


	3. Chapter 3

**I kept my promise (pats self on back). Chapter 3, another un-beta'ed self edited chapter. This one has a bit more dialogue than the past two. I'm still planning out my own version of the Naruto timeline, and the 'older generation' will be different ages than they should be. I'm still looking for ideas on the plot so send me a message or drop a review.**

**UPDATE: CHAPTER EDITED 3/26/08. Only grammar, spelling mistakes, and some wording was changed.**

**Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Two days, four hours, and twenty-nine minutes had passed since the search began. The ninja had searched clearing, trees, and hollowed logs. They had moved at a brisk pace only the elite could accomplish, but that did not even begin to compare how far their former leader could have traveled in one third of their timespan.

The plan was simple, get the best trackers to search the within the lands of fire country. The target was an infant, age ranging anywhere from two weeks to a few months old. Appearance? Unknown. Their biggest problem was the size of fire country itself.

Warnings of the Kyuubi's appearance had come from the central outpost. Normally that would lead to clues as to where they should at least be searching, but it was customary for emergency protocol that any drastic reports were either to be sent to Konoha or to the central outpost. If it was the former, either the fastest ninja available or messenger hawk would be sent to inform Konoha's Hokage.

Making anyone shift through the mess of paperwork would require more time and energy that they didn't have to spare.

* * *

Meanwhile an inauguration for a Hokage was taking place in Konoha. Unlike his first, this initiation into office, this one did not fill Sarutobi with pride. He was not suppose to be returning to this position, Minato his chosen successor, was suppose to be leading Konoha in its time of peace. Sadly not everything always turns out the way we want it to be.

There had been panic throughout civilian and shinobi alike when sightings of the demonic fox had leaked into public knowledge. Some packed to leave, while others prepared for a battle of a life time.

What people had expected when everyone had gathered in front of the balcony of the Hokage Tower; was for their blond leader to go over the evacuation plans for civilians and defensive formations for the shinobi.

Instead they were greeted with the sight of the Third wearing his version of the Hokage garb. It was a sight no one had seen in three years. Murmurs started to spread, but the Third lifted a hand as a sign of silence.

"Look into the faces of your friends, family, and lovers that have gathered here today; as citizens of Konoha each and every one of us holds the will of fire deep within. A Hokage's duty is to preserve that fire, making sure that no matter the odds it must never be extinguished. Through misfortune and tragedy, a Kage stands tall despite the burdens on their shoulders. Three days ago, one of the greatest shinobi, no one of the greatest Kage to ever grace this land, decided to claim a burden all on his own. The defeat of the Kyuubi and the safety of the village he called home." No one spoke, not a sound could be heard. Everyone just _knew_ there was more to the story.

"Our Yondaime Hokage has made the ultimate sacrifice. For the Kyuubi is no ordinary demon, even as an entire village banded together we would have not been able to go against it. The Fourth defeated it in the only way possible, by sealing it into the living vessel, an infant. Their sacrifices have saved us all." Murmurs grew over the crowd escalating in volume rapidly. They silenced however when the explanation continued. "So look around you, look into the faces of your friends, family, and lovers. They live and breathe due to the sacrifice of not one but two souls. The Yondaime only asked for one thing in return, he wanted the innocent life condemned with the burden to be accepted, and to lead a normal, happy life."

"Respect his wishes as you respected him. Today I officially reclaim the name Sandaime Hokage of Konoha and will carry on the fight to preserve the will of fire like all those before (and after) me. Long thrive the Leaf!" It started out as a low thunderous clap and gradually erupted into cheers. Leaf had with stood a testimate in form of a demon attack, and came out alive, except for one. Tears had also flowed through freely and heads were bowed for the late leader in respect and gratitude for his sacrifice.

What the crowd still didn't know however was that the innocent soul condemned to bear the Kyuubi was still being searched for.

* * *

The search had been going on for more than two days, but their mark had been without food and nourishment for almost three. Some had tried to search for a sign of a battlefield, but that proved to be in vain. Every clue that could have lead them there faster had vanished.

Kakashi had been traveling at top speeds; panic had already started to cloud his judgment, three days! An infant without food and water for so long! Three days without water alone would kill a civilian, but for an infant, the chances of survival were below zero. This wasn't just any infant either, it was the son of his sensei, his last living precious person, and a bond had already been formed during the month the child had been in the world. Nothing could convince him to give up until he saw a cold lifeless body.

He was already showing signs of severe fatigue, having already passed the normal limit for the consumption of solider pills in the first day. That was already leaning dangerously close to poisoning his chakra system with the amount he was consuming. All while only resting the bare minimum every few hours, soon th strain would cause his body to collapse.

* * *

_Blink._

_Blink._

Blue eyes stared at the white and yellow butterfly. A child's giggle escaped small lips as miniature hands attempted to catch the flying bug. He had been lying in this clearing for almost three days now, and was still a beacon of energy. Animals once weary of his presence came and studied the baby up close. Some sniffed his white hair, others playfully licked his face, while a few chose to just observe.Ever since the surge of chakra a few more creatures explored the source up close and found a human child lying on a white and red cloak.

Whenever they were near, the child seemed to have more energy, almost as if nature itself was helping him survive. During the dead of night small particles the size of dust would fall from the trees to the white haired child, nurturing and warming him. The ritual had caused his body to develope more over the course of three days than a normal child. His small muscles had changed slightly, maturing and growing at an alarming rate. Something that would heavily tax him in the long run.

Curiosity had gotten the best of the boy this morning. He spotted a small four inch yellow lizard resting on a rock a foot and a half away, stretching the baby boy tried to touch it. His chubby fingers didn't even make it half way.

The lizard moved off the rock, onto the grass. One eye watched the whiskered human; the other looked out into the sky for a meal. (they can do that) A few more futile attempts later of grabbing it while laying on his back, Naruto tried something new. Swinging his small feet, Naru-chan managed his first roll over onto his stomach. He rolled over again and again until he was face to face with the lizard.

_Poke. _

It didn't move.

_Poke._

Nothing.

Giggling the baby grabbed the yellow reptile with his mini fingers and rolled off his stomach onto his back in one swift motion. Poor lizard, now it was a cuddle buddy in the hands of Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Danzo and the few members of ANBU that were solely loyal to him had begun searching for the Uzumaki as well, in the west.

They searched quickly and efficiently, though without the knowledge of the Hatake, or the resources of special clan eyes, noses, or bugs; their division didn't get much done.

* * *

Kakashi was just about to give up, all his energy was sapped, and his body itself was starting to shut down commanding rest. The ANBU prodigy stopped, resting on a log in for a few short moments, it seemed as if his summons shared his fatigue. They lay panting at his feet, a few out cold. He could feel 

his consciousness starting to tug away, but suddenly an ear twitched. Another followed two more after that, eventually the some of the dogs stood up. Kakashi was just about to ask what had gotten into them, but then he heard it. It gave him new found energy.

A giggle, not his kind of giggles, but a baby's giggle.

When Kakashi first walked into the clearing he saw a small baby boy who looked like he was four months old with hair whiter than his own. His racing heart fell to the pit of his stomach. It wasn't him, not the small blond son of his sensei. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a glint of silver as the baby rolled again with his lizard companion.

The chain. The cloak. They were the things Minato left his son.

Kakashi took small steps toward the baby, who stopped rolling in the grass to gaze at the familiar teenager with silver hair. The yellow lizard took this distraction as an escape route, and ran up the nearest tree.

Crouching next to the baby Kakashi let himself simle for the first time in a few days. "Your one hard person to find Naru-chan." He wrapped the naked baby in the Yondaimes cloak and picked him up. "Really, really, hard to find."

Naruto responded by flailing his hands toward Kakashi. His toothless mouth grinning and eyes shining.

With the Naruto in his arms Kakashi walked a bit toward Konoha before he started to falter in his steps. Before he would drop the baby, Kakashi leaned against a tree relying on it for support.

"Saa, I think we should rest a bit first, eh Naru-chan?" Looking down Kakashi got a yawn in response. Naruto just sucked his small thumb and closed his blue eyes, falling asleep. "My thoughts exactly" With that Kakashi slumped against the base of the oak and for the first time let his body get the rest it deserved.

* * *

The leaves crumpled under the weight of Danzo's search crew, they had taken into looking west but had found nothing. It was approaching the third day, and were being told to now look for a body. Not a baby but a dead lifeless body.

Some of the members wanted to stop for a nights rest, but they knew better than to go up against their superior, those who did usually would up missing for a long period of time. No one was ever the same when they came back.

In the east however two bleached haired individuals were a days sprint away from the village. Kakashi had packed rations for himself and an infant. A good thing too, for the forest had stopped its nightly ritual of letting the child feed off their energy.

During the journey back Kakashi couldn't help but let his mind wander, why was the child so healthy? Hell why was he even alive? Not that the ANBU wasn't grateful, no he was way beyond that. Something wasn't right. The child had white hair, whisker marks, and had aged too much all over the course of four days. The seal had something to do with this, he was sure.

* * *

"So this is Naruto-kun eh?" The Third once again sat behind the Hokage desk smoking his pipe. "I didn't expect him to be that old. White hair isn't that common either, you sure he was an orphan?"

"Its puzzling to me too Hokage-sama, almost everything about the child has changed. When Minato-sensei chose him, the boy had both brown eyes and hair, no whisker marks either" Kakashi lied. "Though this is the silver necklace he gave him. My dogs say the scent is faint, but it's a match also."

Sarutobi turned to look out the window. He watched the fifteen year old out of the corner of his eye. "Your hiding something." Kakashi didn't show any outward reaction other than his tightening grip on the boy. "Though I assume its part of Minato's plan and theres no chance in me getting it out of you either?"

Kakashi nodded, he had to remember this was the Third, not any normal person. "You know, sometimes I feel that he's mocking me" His fingers ran through the sleeping Naruto's white hair. "But he got it a few shades off" Kakashi's one visibile eye was curved in a smile as he faced the Hokage. "How did the talks go with the council?"

The Third then really looked old. His shoulders slumped as he pulled out a bottle of sake from under his desk. It was obvious where two of his students got their drinking habits from. "Horrible." Sarutobi didn't even bother to use a saucer as he sipped. "Huuyga's and Uchiha's want him for their own agendas, Danzo goes and purposes we make him a living weapon, some even are calling for his execu-"

"They can't do that! He's an innocent life that didn't have any control over anything!" Kakashi tightened his grip even further causing the child to stir.

"-Which is why I have decided that the best course of action would be to send him to the orphanage." Seeing the young man about to respond the Third raised his hand ordering silence. "Giving him to _any_ clan would shatter any cooperation between the others, Danzo would turn him into an emotionless killing machine, and death is self explanatory. My hands are tied."

"But I can-"

"You are a fifteen year old newly appointed ANBU captain, you have neither the time or experience" Sarutobi said firmly, but his voice was softer when he spoke again. "I can see that you care, a lot actually, but the sad fact is the most normal life he could lead is in an orphanage." He walked up to Kakashi laying a hand on the slightly shorter forms shoulder.

"Always remember Kakashi, every dark cloud has a silver lining as vibrant as your hair color" He chuckled and puffed into his pipe. "This way, you can visit him as often as you like without clan interference, and he'll be cared for while your away on missions."

It was clear that Sarutobi was trying to sell this arrangement like used equipment. You talk about the good but ignore the bad, but still, the old man had a point. "What about a civilian adoption?" Kakashi asked hopeful. "A civilian family would be better than an orphanage."

"I've thought about that" he sighed. "An orphanage is supposed to find homes for orphans, but because of Naruto-kun's resident we have to provide various background checks to make sure that they have no ulterior motive or major biases to any clan or figure heads." The Third sighed again that meant paperwork, a lot of paperwork.

"So it's a waiting game isn't it" Kakashi asked, voice low. His thumb was being gripped in the sleeping Naruto's small hand.

The Sandaime gave him a sad smile and looked out the window into the village again and nodded. "It's a waiting game."

* * *

**This one's a little short too, I'm trying to put more dialogue in, and you can expect that in the future chapters now that almost everything is set up. **

**This is the last chapter that has baby Naruto in it, and yes he has white hair, I'll get into detail on his appearance next chapter.**

**I changed it so that the main characters are Kakashi and Naruto. Kyuubi won't even come into play for a few years. **

**I'd like to hear peoples' opinions on how Naruto will grow up. He won't be exactly the same as cannon, because the background is vastly different. Should he be adopted? Or left in the Orphanage? Leave a review or send me a message because I don't read minds!**

**Next Chapter: Time Skip…Naruto's Childhood.**

**-Nicx Vee**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everybody, I'm sick and there's nothing on TV, and my friends have gone shopping while I rot in my room. So I decided to write this chapter, it's a lot different from the way the previous one's were written, but you'll see what I mean. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other of the Character in this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"Oi, Old Man watcha doing?"

"Stop calling me that I'm younger than you!" Naruto glared at the bun haired girl.

"Sheesh, first you reject whitey-chan, now Old Man? What the hell do you want me to call you?" Tenten tapped her foot, returning his glare.

It was times like these Naruto really hated his hair color, in crowds he stood out like a zit. It wasn't bad enough that people already seemed to have some hidden vendetta against him. "Let's try my name? You know Na-Ru-To? That ring a bell to you?" He returned to his project. It involved orange paint, itching powder, ropes, a net and a few kunai.

Tenten flopped down next to the boy, he was always doing things like this. "You're weird you know that?" She grabbed one of the dull kunai when he wasn't looking and flicked it to a nearby tree.

"I'm a suuuper short seven year old, whiskered faced kid with hair whiter that the Hokage's, what part of me made you think I was normal?" He continued to study his blue prints and double check the every part of his current plan, not even noticing he was missing a kunai.

"Geez I know you look like an old fart no need to act and talk like one too." Tenten tried to scoot closer to where he was sitting on an old stump, he never let anyone look at his plans, but that never stopped people from trying. "You never answered me, whatcha doing 'Na-Ru-To'? She asked mimicking him.

"Not telling" He still didn't look at her and away from the papers.

"One hint?"

"No."

"Why you always so crabby?" Tenten glared lightly at him, it always seemed as if he was in a bad mood when he was around certain people.

"Hey! I'm not a crab! I'm allergic to those things!" He returned her glare momentarily before checking over his supplies again. "Could you stop throwing my kunai all the time! Those took me forever to get!" He had to search training fields for any forgotten ones that ninja's left behind; shops usually creeped him out, with

people always staring funny and avoiding him at all possible. It wasn't uncommon for people to shoot him looks and stay away from him. For what though? He never knew.

"-that you never noticed" She saw the way he seemed to be looking out into nothing, eyes glazed. "You weren't even listening!" A rock suddenly found her way into her hand and soon it was ricocheting off Naruto's head. The girl had oddly good aim for her age.

The rock seemed to work for getting him out of his stupor. Walking up to the tree, Naruto plucked the kunai out with a bit of effort before finally trudging back to Tenten who used that moment to grab his blue prints. "Sorry, I was thinking." It took him a while to notice what she was doing. "Hey! Get away from that!"

"I don't see why you never let people look at this, you can't even read what it says anyways…Is that a picture of…is this even legal?" She looked at him wide eyed. He returned to her a look of boredom.

"Don't know, don't really care!" Before Tenten could react Naruto was already dashing out of the orphanage's backyard and going off to put his plan into motion.

"Hey! You forgot this!" She held up another dull kunai, but he was already too far off. "Oh well, more for me." Pocketing the weapon, she went about her own business.

* * *

Houka Children's Housing was one of many Orphanages in Konoha. Located close to the schooling district, it was where most of the children stayed. Konoha itself had six housing establishments for Orphans, usually they were separated by categories, age, gender, education, etc. During the past few years though, adoption rates had rising, leaving most of the places near empty.

Legislature in the council had been passed to further improve the lives of the children that still hadn't been adopted. It used to be that the guardians, or main caregivers were in charge of everything the kids did or could do. Now, the children were not restricted to just school and home; children with special permission or those over a certain age could were free to explore the village . Curfews were set to prevent a child from getting into any trouble and punishments were given to those who caused any. It gave them more freedom to live normally like other children.

Konoha's growth during the past eight years was phenomenal. Both the ninja and civilian population had grown exponentially, there was proof in the construction that could be seen almost everywhere. The village had grown so large in the past years, that the walls had been torn down and renovated in order to relieve provide more room for Housing and Industry.

The village's size had doubled with the renovation, and buildings were able to be spaced out and not so congested as before. The homes and plots of land that had previously been outside the walls were now within. Most of their owners had built fences or any other type of barrier to maintain their privacy.

* * *

"Gah! I hate how far I have to walk to do this thing." A white haired boy with an overly stuffed blue backpack walked through one of the minor shopping district. Crowds parted and people separated as he went by, acting as if he was the plague. He just ignored them though like usual.

Usually Naruto avoided places with lots of people, but he didn't have time for that luxury today. Briskly, he walked through the crowds of people, most would stare at him as if he was a freak, and it made him feel like one too. He wasn't even sure why!

Finally he reached his destination, an intersection that few passed in order to get home. It was closer to the newer parts of the village. Naruto liked this place a lot, it was more open, and still had bunches of trees that lined up the pathways. It was perfect for a prank ambush.

Moments later everything was set, he suppressed and evil cackle, it wouldn't be good for people to notice him. In a tree he sat observing as every once in a while a person would pass. He just had to wait for his target to come by this way too. It was one of his more elaborate schemes, while most kids enjoyed watching tv, or playing video games or sports; Naruto would play pranks. It was his passion and he was dam good at it too.

The orange button up shirt he always wore was open revealing a white under-shirt. Hiding was a hard thing to do while wearing it, but it never stopped him before, and he wasn't going to stop him now. In the distance he saw the silhouette of his target approaching.

Naruto reached into the side pocket of his green plaid shorts fishing for his last kunai. "Dammit!" he cursed softly.

The pocket was empty, how could he miss that? Now what was he suppose to do? The rope suspending the net was supposed to be cut when he threw the kunai. He was torn between wanting to pull his hair out and yell at Tenten, who he just _knew_ was the cause of all this.

His supposed victim was already passing by the pebble he used as the set off point. Naruto sighed, another six hours of planning wasted on this failed prank.

Suddenly the whirling noise of a shuriken cut through the silence. It shredded through the ropes, causing the domino effect Naruto loved.

First the net fell on the unsuspecting victim trapping him and causing two paint cans to come swinging from both directions, splashing the man with an orange paint and die mixture. Then best part, vibrations caused by the paint can collision made the box of itching powder fall open and showered the target below. Naruto sighed, it was beautiful, and the guy would be rubbing chamomile lotion in vain for days.

He had a feeling he was forgetting something though. _'Everything happened like it was suppose to….'_ He froze, it wasn't him who threw the kunai! He looked around and seeing the person next to him almost caused him to fall out of the tree.

Eye crinkling in a crescent, Kakashi sat crouching next to Naruto on the branch, startling him.

"Geez you tryin' to kill me! Make a little more noise before you do that." Naruto pointed an accusing hand toward the cycloptic ninja.

Kakashi went into a mock thinking pose, scratching his masked covered chin. "I wouldn't be much of ninja then, would I?" He eye smiled again. "Now, now, Naru-chan, I'm just trying to help you out here. Don't forget to always have a plan B next time."

The orange itching man, formerly known as Umino Iruka stood up and yelled at the two from below. "You!" he pointed at Kakashi. "Don't encourage him." He then shifted his attention to Naruto who was trying to run away, when a hand grabbed him. "And you!" Iruka lifted him up into the air shaking him slightly. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop wasting your time playing pranks!"

"Sorry" Naruto tried to look as remorseful as possible, but his smile completely shattered the attempt. "But you should see yourself Mama's Boy!" He managed to slip from the new chuunins grip, as Iruka started scratching himself all over.

Iruka was covered head to toe with an orange paint and dye mixture, Naruto made sure to put dye in it so that the color would stay in for a really long time. He was flailing his arms all over his person trying to relieve the irritation all over. All while Naruto rolled on the floor laughing. Kakashi himself coughed disguising a laugh. "I wasn't encouraging Umino-san, I only suggested that it's always good to be prepared." He pulled out book.

"Naruto." Scratch. "I know you're smart, and if only you spent half your time" Scratch, scratch. "on something more productive than pranks" Smack, scratch. "You could really get somewhere." It took all Iruka had not to use a tree to relieve the itching on his back. Instead he picked Naruto up but the collar of his white shirt and yelled at him. "But if you ever pull something like that again, I'll show you what a real prankster could do!"

Naruto looked defiantly into Iruka's face "That a challenge Mama's Boy!"

Before it could get any further Kakashi separated the two. "Don't worry Umino-san, I'll make sure he never does it again." He said in a sickenly sweet voice and eye smile.

The white-haired boy gulped, that was never a good sign.

Iruka thought for a moment, but decided that he needed to get rid of the itch as soon as possible and just let the two leave. For several days he would be the number one buyer of chamomile lotion

* * *

Two bleached haired figures were walking down the streets of Konoha. The sun was already starting to set and people were going home. Naruto stood extremely short compared to Kakashi. Despite being seven years old he looked more like five. Right now he was just struggling to keep pace with Kakashi. "Oi, slow down would ya'." He rasped out losing his breath. Kakashi had made him run five laps around the whole village for his prank.

"Maa, if you had the energy to pull pranks then you should have enough to keep up." Kakashi maneuvered his way through without even looking up from his book.

"But Niisan! Naruto protested.

"hmm?"

"It's not my fault! You have gianormously long legs!" He latching onto Kakashi's pant leg trying to slow him down. Naruto ended up being dragged the whole way to the bookstore. "What we doing here again?" he knew exactly what they were doing here, but asked anyway.

Kakashi shook the white topped boy off his pant leg, dropping him before he entered the XXX aisle. When Naruto was five he followed Kakashi down there and it gave the boy nightmares to this very day. "Jiraiya-sama's special addition of _Icha Icha: Paradise_ should be out today." The man giggled perversely as he found the orange book. Naruto gagged.

"Ewww, why do you even read that stuff Niisan, it's got girls in it, they're so gross!" He made a face at the man who was already tuning him out while reading the novel.

He looked out at his mini-me out of the corner of his eye, "hmm you say something?" Naruto attempted to charge at the man, but Kakashi held him off with a foot. the result was Naruto running in place flailing his arms but going nowhere with the foot on his head.

"Stop picking on me!" he whined.

Kakashi replied in a sing – song – voice "I'm not doing anything." It made Naruto want to make the term ankle biter into more than just a figure of speech. "Why don't you go find yourself a book over there" he gestured to the kiddy section. "And I'll buy it for you and then we could go for something to eat."

"I don't want no little kid book!" He stomped over to the 'more mature' reading material and pulled out a something. "I want this!" '_How to be a Ninja for Dummies: Chakra and Explosives'_. The grin on his face would make a weak willed person piss themselves.

Some part of Kakashi told him that was a big no no. The other part of him however won the battle and they walked to the front of the store to pay for their selections.

The cashier was a man slightly overweight, wearing a dark green uniform obviously a few sizes too small. To Kakashi he smiled, but when he saw the white haired kid with him, the smile was replaced by a slight frown. Yet another person who treated Naruto like the plague.

On the way back from dinner Kakashi walked slower, no longer in a rush to get his new reading material. Naruto, though wished that they would go faster. It was nearing the night-time rush and people were bustling all around the shopping district.

No matter how crowded the place was, people would always stop and stare at Naruto, sometimes he detected a little fear in their eyes, no one was willing to even go near him, let alone get to know him. Everywhere he went the crowds would part, people always stayed at least a meter radius away from him. Parents would tell their children not to go near him, conversations would halt if he walked into a room, and people would stare at him whenever he went into a store.

Sometimes an occasional drunk would see him when he snuck out past curfew, and then go on and on about how sorry he was for everything and anything under the sun.

Other times people just ignored him, like he would go away if you didn't give him any attention. It always bugged him how so many people seemed to have something against him and he never did _anything_ to deserve it. He asked Kakashi about it one day when they were in a park, he didn't really like what he told him.

Flashback

"_Sometimes they see you and their reminded of the past, like an old relic that hangs in front of them, it makes them think about what could've happened and what they think will happen again." They sat on the grassy hill watching as other children played with their friends. Naruto wanted to join them, but whenever he came along the looks in their eyes just screamed at him to go away harsher than any words could. _

"_Niisan, what do I remind them of?" His voice was soft and his eyes were sad._

_Kakashi's eye widened when he realized what he just said. He was a thin line away from breaking the third's law. His hand clasped Naruto's shoulder firmly causing the boy to look up straight into his eyes. "Believe me I want to tell you, but I can't…yet."_

_Naruto wanted to scream shout and complain to Kakashi. He wanted to know dammit! He _needed_ to know. The look in the silver haired man's eye however, silenced him, never was Niisan this serious about anything. _

"_Just remember, no matter what people think of you, as long as you know yourself who _you _are and everything will be okay." Kakashi had a small smile under his mask, but Naruto saw it, he always did and the boy returned it with but it didn't help all the questions that swam through his head._

End Flashback

Before he knew it, they were standing in front of Houka. "You gonna go in with me?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Kakashi bent down to eye-level with the boy, and ruffled his white hair. "Not today, I have a mission first thing tomorrow, but I'll see you next Tuesday." He stood up before walking away and calling a good bye over his shoulder.

The boy sighed and went into the building. It was a the largest Orphanage in Konoha, usually it held kids between the ages of five and ten, but there were a few who stayed longer, rather than move into one of the smaller housings meant for older kids.

Naruto had a room on the second floor of the eastern wing, the boy's side. Usually people had roommates, but no one seemed to want to room with him. It wasn't that bad though, he had a lot of space to himself and to put his things. His room had white walls and a white ceiling, one day he would paint it, but he still didn't know what. He had a bunk bed, two bookcases, a few shelves, a desk, and a trunk. Some would consider him lucky to have that all to himself while others had to share with one or two roommates, but honestly he didn't like having so much space. It made him feel more alone and unwanted.

Naruto's bookcases were filled with knickknacks, pictures, and a lot of books. Kakashi usually took him to the bookstore a few times a month and bought him a few things. Naruto often wondered why the man would visit him and only him and a regular basis. It also made him feel good to know that someone liked him. For as long as he could remember, the silver haired ninja would come by and play with him or take him out places. He even taught him how to read, big mistake. When Naruto learned to read, he began making elaborate pranks and planning them out. At the library he would study different things to incorporate into his plans, and pretty soon he was going whoopee cushions to mass scale masterpieces.

Sometimes he would wish that Kakashi would adopt him, like other people did with other children, but he was afraid what would happen if he asked, he didn't want to hear Kakashi say he didn't want him.

Other people visited him too. There was the Old Man Hokage, and even some of these other weird people. He liked it when the Hokage visited, but the other people usually just stayed for five minutes and talked to him about random things, and gave him weird presents. It seemed like they always wanted something out of him too.

There was this one weird old person with one eye and one arm. He freaked him out a bit when he started asking him all these random questions and telling him things about power. After he told the Hokage and Kakashi-niisan about him, the guy never came back.

All in all today was a good day. He smiled when he imagined Iruka still trying to relieve the effects of itching powder. Then he remembered that Tenten and frowned, shestill had his kunai, stupid girls they always got into his business.

Sighing Naruto pulled out his newest book before plopping onto bed. In true Naruto fashion it had orange sheets with blue spirals that came with blue pillow cases with orange spirals. They were given to him on his sixth birthday from the Hokage.

From under his bed he pulled out his plans for his greatest work in progress. '_The Unmasking Of Hatake Kakashi'_. He suppressed another urge to cackle evilly, one day Kakashi, one day.

Somehow he would use whatever he learned in this book into finding just what exactly his Niisan was hiding. It was just one thing among his list of many lifetime goals. For a few hours he studied the book and got a few ideas involving exploding tags, a stink bomb, and the girl's bathroom.

A few hour of reading later, Naruto's eyes got droopy and prepared to go to bed. He slept in a white T-shirt, orange boxers, and a black sleeping cap that he guessed looked like some animal.

Before he fell asleep Naruto looked at three pictures in his room, it was a nightly ritual he couldn't remember starting. There was a picture of him and Niisan, then a picture of Sarutobi eating at Ichiraku Ramen, noddles dripping out of his mouth. Then finally there was a picture of a blond man that he didn't remember knowing.

* * *

**Note:**

**The next couple of chapters will be mostly fillers with a bunch of Naruto nonsense. Their points are basically to show how he grows up; and some will have more importance to the main plot than others too. **

**Pairings? No one from Naruto's generation will be paired up for a while (if ever), I plan to show friendly relationships for now. As you can see Naruto still has the 'girls are icky' line of thought.**

**Tenten, hmm I'm not sure what to do with her yet. No one really knows her last name or if she has parents, so I might make her an orphan or make her parents one of the many people that work in the Orphanage. **

**As for the villagers reaction toward Naruto, they really scare him, but not in the 'ahh run away it's a monster' way; but more of the 'keep your distance, he's dangerous' way. **

**Well that's all for now, please give me some feedback, or I might start thinking that you people out there don't like it and I'll stop. : P**

**-Nicx Vee**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm just going to apologize in advance for my bad fight scenes, still not great at writing them yet.**

**Special thanks to everyone who reviewed and my awesome beta Demion69**

**Disclaimer: I herby renounce any ownership that I've never had or ever will of the Naruto manga and series. **

**Chapter 5**

Konoha's rapid growth was the envy of other nations. Even after the war with Iwa and the failed Kyuubi attack, Konoha had the largest population of both ninja and civilians. They're growth had branched out towards their trade and economy.

Fire country was not named after how it looked. No, it was probably the opposite of that. Instead of a desolate wasteland covered in flames that the name suggests, it actually had the perfect balance of all the elements. The surrounding forests were large and vast, natural springs of water ran through all over, and mountainous rock pierced the pollution free air.

Konoha's surroundings allowed them to export goods ranging from their grown agriculture to the mined metals. It was an advantage that stole profits from other villages that produced the same materials. Ninja's from Konoha were also sent on more and more missions, because they were known for their geniuses after all.

The Kyuubi attack had taken from them a leader, but in its wake grew the power that was Konoha. Enemies of the village had become more numerous. While they flourished with trade, others suffered the lack of. After years of suffering the leaders of Leaf hostiles' finally banded together. Something had to stop them before they got used to that way of living.

Spies of various villages were sent to Konoha, only the best of the best of their field were chosen. Konoha itself had become too trusting, for a hidden village their walls and forest were the only things separating them from the outside world. Merchants were cleared without many difficulties, but still passports and papers were checked for verification.

Konoha was not stupid, they knew their risk for invaders were high, but you could not restrict one of the main sources of income on paranoia alone. The only individuals that were even sent under heavy surveillance were either non-merchants, members of villages not allied with them, or other ninja.

However, the daily flow of people passing through their gates was still large. In the morning rush, the Chunin guards never noticed the hostile elites pass through disguised as regular suppliers.

* * *

The ninja chosen for the infiltration simply waited for a caravan to pass through one of the minor trade routes unguarded. Evidence of any of the former members of the caravan was disposed of and after many applications of high level genjutsu the ninja proceeded.

The infiltration was a success so far, disguised as the family of traders; they memorized the layout of the village. Their supposed 'children' had gone to 'play'. In actuality the ninja in disguise were searching for any weak points the village might have had.

So far things were in the clear. They could not linger long in the village however; it would become harder to shake off suspicion.

ANBU were already patrolling the streets, they were taught to always look out for suspicion in any shape or form. Children were both the hardest and easiest to overlook. Hardest because often they were seen as too innocent to be much of a threat and easiest because it was easy to see if a child was out of character, well unless that child was the Kyuubi container, he was always acting in ways a normal child wouldn't.

* * *

Naruto's latest prank had earned him the joy of cleaning one of the ponds on the outskirts of the village walls, Kakashi as his supervisor. Normally this would be a D-rank mission for Genin, but Kakashi didn't see how Naruto wouldn't be able to do this.

"Oi Ero-Niisan, isn't there some child labour law against this?" Naruto grumbled as his small form was almost to the neck in water. Despite being eight now, Naruto had the build of a six year old, but with the mouth and mind of someone older. During his years of hero worship for Kakashi (which were still present but dulled) Naruto had wanted to do everything his adoptive brother did. That included dressing like him and reading at all times of the day, but Kakashi would never let him read porn and Naruto didn't want to either.

He had gone from dressing like Kakashi and reading small stories or sometimes magna whenever he wasn't walking (he couldn't multitask that way yet.) To developing his own 'unique' style of clothing and reading harder level books while doing almost anything. Naruto's attire was still heavily based on Kakashi's own, but he figured the mask wasn't for him and orange was way better than Kakashi's bland dark colours; something that the man had failed in talking him out of.

The off duty ANBU member sat in a tree above the medium sized pond reading his book while 'watching' as Naruto cleaned. Whenever the boy would complain Kakashi would chide him with a 'If you have enough energy to prank you have enough to….' a phrase that Naruto was absolutely sick of.

So the snow haired boy decided to move to his last resort. "YOSH! I SHALL CLEAN EVERY PIECE OF TRASH WITH THE FLAMES OF YOUTH!" he cackled evilly as Kakashi fell out of his tree twitching. Naruto flashed him the 'cool guy' pose and continued to clean.

"You evil little-, I thought I told you to stay away from Gai!"

"But Gai-san is soo cool!! He helped me with taijutsu and everything while you were on missions, and even offered me a jumpsuit." Inwardly Naruto was laughing at the look on his Niisan's face. Sure Gai was cool, and helped him a bit on taijutsu, but never would he wear that green _thing_.

Kakashi walked on top of the water, (which made Naruto steam in annoyance) and crouched down so he was eye level with the submerged boy. "Naruto, as your Niisan, I'm not just telling you, I'm warning you, acting like Gai, will turn you into… uh you see… how do I say this?" Kakashi looked into the sky asking it for an answer that would make Naruto scared enough to not be influenced by the man. "Hmmm, you know his eyebrows?"

"Yeah their freaky, what about them?"

"If you keep acting like Gai, your eyebrows will get as large as his." The look on Naruto's face made Kakashi thankful for all his years as a shinobi, for without them, he probably would have probably fallen into the water from laughter.

Naruto's mind raced as he pictured himself with big white bushy brows and shuddered. "Y-yea Niisan, I'll stop acting like Gai, but on one condition." Kakashi raised an eyebrow motioning him to continue. "You have to train me!"

The cycloptic man went over this for a bit, and ignored the feeling that Naruto had just conned him into something. Finally after a long pause Kakashi finally sighed. "Fine, but don't back out if it's too hard for you"

Naruto pumped his fist into the air causing the water to splash a bit, but Kakashi had already retreated back to his tree avoiding the scummy liquid.

* * *

The spies were ready to leave Konoha. Seven of them in total had managed to successfully infiltrate Konoha's walls and had mentally documented information on various weak points in Konoha. It was 

their third day in the village and their last. In broad daylight of the third afternoon the supposed merchants walked out of Konoha's gates.

No one noticed the single ANBU operative follow them from behind.

* * *

Naruto had just finished cleaning the pond, and he was proud to say that it looked spotless, well as spotless as a murky pond could get. There was no longer trash or other junk in it, just a whole bunch of scum that every pond should have at least a bit of.

"I didn't think you'd be done so soon." Kakashi jumped down from the tree landing next to Naruto. He threw the boy a towel and his dry clothes. "Come on we have to get back before Ichiraku closes." His eye crinkled into a smile when Naruto's face lit up at the offer.

Naruto had dried off and dressed before Kakashi could even finish reading a page in his book. "Come on Niisan! Let's go!" He said while pulling the man towards the village.

The 'caravan' composed of seven elite Jounins from various villages were already a good distance away from the village. Their silent stalker not too far behind them, he had yet to see any suspicious activity from them other than the brisk pace they travelled at.

Two silhouettes could be seen in the distance, a young man and a little boy. Upon closer inspection they recognized one as the famous 'Copy-nin of Konoha'. To the foreigners the smaller boy next to him looked close enough to be a relative, maybe even his son.

Through silent communication the caravan decided that it would be best to eliminate the two. Hatake Kakashi was already known as one of Konoha's more powerful ninja, there was no telling how strong he could become with time. And if the child with him was indeed related to the man, it would be a possible threat in the making if they left him alive.

Before, they would have scoffed at the idea that one or two shinobi would make a difference in Konoha's strength, even powerful ones. The Yondaime however, changed that mindset. So it would be best to rob their enemies of strength now rather than wait for it to bite them in their asses later.

Naruto and Kakashi walked past the caravan, the younger of the two pausing to give a greeting. Travelling merchants were always nicer than the ones back home. Kakashi eyed them for a bit, gauging 

their reactions. They waved back, but their eyes didn't seem to be focused on greeting them. Instead they seemed to be hiding a cold, calculating glance, something that only shinobi would be capable of. Sure they hid it well, but Kakashi was trained to notice the subtle hints, underneath the underneath.

Almost as soon as they passed each other the enemy sprang into action. Kunai and shuriken were fired, and concealed swords were drawn.

Kakashi reacted immediately, pushing Naruto out of harm's way and performing a quick **Kawarimi** with a log, which intercepted the thrown weapons. Kakashi's Sharingan eye was already uncovered and spinning as he charged at the enemy.

With their genjutsus dispelled, three Iwa nin, two Kumo, and two unfamiliar shinobi with music notes on their headbands emerged. "Hatake Kakashi, one of Konoha's elite scum." One of them said while the others surrounded him. "Tell me Copy Nin, are you ready to die?"

Kakashi didn't even bother to answer as he went through hand seals. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**" in a puff of smoke seven ninken appeared. (Is that what a ninja dog is called?) He pointed at one of the larger ones to go protect Naruto and sent Pakkun to Konoha for reinforcements.

The enemy ninja didn't waste any more time and charged at Kakashi who had summoned a few Kage Bunshin as well. Without his ANBU issued katana Kakashi was forced to hold off the attackers with his Kunai. He did a successful job of subduing the ninja with music note insignias.

The sound nin were only sent on this mission as Genjutsu experts to disguise themselves and their comrades. Soon though they found out that the Sharingan wielding man was not susceptible to any of their Genjutsu and they were the first to go down.

Two Iwa and Kumo-nin had engaged Kakashi in a taijutsu and ninjutsu assault. Kakashi's shadow clones had managed to stop the ninjas from working together, but soon he was starting to feel the effects of using his Sharingan. Repeatedly he had used it to predict his opponent's movements so that he could counter them with his own.

* * *

Naruto watched frantically as his brother attacked the other ninja. One of the ninja had managed to get past Kakashi and was now nearing Naruto. The man had murder in his eyes as he charged the young boy with sword in hand. Naruto managed to dodge the first few strikes, but it wasn't long before the Iwa Jounin used a jutsu to swallow Naruto's feet into the ground, rendering him from running away.

The ninja was about to take a swipe at the boy's head when a large dog came out of nowhere and bit the man on the arm. With a swish of her tail the dog caused the man to stagger back a bit before he continued his attack. The ninken had tried to bite and maul the man to death, but he wasn't an Iwaelite for nothing. When the brown dog tried to attack again he dropped the sword in his hand and instead wrapped them around the base of the canine's neck and slammed her into a tree. "Stupid bitch" the man muttered.

Naruto had taken this time to try and dig his legs out of the ground. He had only managed to remove his right one before the summon had been dispelled by smashing into a tree. The Rock nin limped back to his sword before he was intercepted again, this time by a Konoha ANBU.

Yamato had been at a distance when the caravan of ninja had engaged his Squad Captain. At the sight of the first attack Yamato had sprinted straight to the defenceless Naruto. Pakkun had passed by the man almost unnoticed on his way to the village, but left the man a few parting words. _'Protect the kid or else.'_

By the time he had actually reached the boy, Kakashi's other summon had been defeated and the other ninja was already recovering from the assault. The rock-nin had just enough time to grab his sword before tree branches suddenly wrapped around him. The nin looked shocked to see that they were actual branches and not a genjutsu, he hadn't been aware that the Shodai Hokage's powers had been passed on.

The ANBU operative effectively used his Mokuton abilities to stop the man, as well as impale him with sharp spikes of wood, killing the nin. He turned back to the white haired boy addressing him "Uzumaki-san return to the village as fast as possible, it's not safe for you to stay here" Naruto just nodded to the man, he knew better than to mouth off in this situation.

With his left leg free Naruto sprinted to the village as fast as his legs could carry him, but not before he looked back to see his Niisan get hit by a **Raiton **technique. He stopped wanting to go back and help, but he was too far off. The ANBU and Kakashi had managed to defeat one more Rock-nin and a Kumo-nin. That left one Rock and one Kumo ninja who didn't look half as tired as Kakashi and Yamato. The Sharingan was a powerful weapon, but it wasn't without cost. Kakashi didn't have enough chakra for a Raikiri, but just enough for one Chidori. He fired up his technique to launch at the spies when a blood curdling scream filled the area.

* * *

In the heat of battle no one noticed when the sound shinobi recovered and sneaked towards the now defenceless boy. Naruto had stopped in shock seeing his Niisan get hurt, but when he saw Kakashi recover enough to launch another attack Naruto prepared to resume his escape toward the village.

As soon as Naruto turned around he was met face to face with an Oto Jounin, while another hid in a tree. The boy should be no problem to the two, even with genjutsu as their specialty. The black haired sound nin tried to stab the boy with a Kunai, only for him to dodge with speed they didn't expect. It seemed as if this white haired child really was a ninja in training.

In his mind Naruto knew there was no way he could outrun another ninja, he was fast, but not that fast. The only thing he could do was stall until help arrived. Naruto's usually sharp mind had been dulled by the shock and sheer intensity of actual combat. He jumped and dodged the kunai and shuriken, being thrown at him, the enemy was still underestimating him, and it wouldn't be long until they got fed up with chasing him.

Gai-san had started to teach Naruto how to enhance his speed with chakra. The problem was with his horrible control, Naruto was progressing in that area slowly. He was able to use small bursts to increase his speed enough to dodge a few of the weapons being thrown at him, but was not able to sustain it for long periods like most shinobi.

The sound nin sitting up in a tree finally got pissed at how long it was taking to capture a small child. With superior speed he caught up to the boy and kicked him to the ground.

Naruto had tried to recover from that blow but was kicked from the side straight into the other ninja. They had bound his arms and legs to prevent anymore escapes before smiling evilly at the boy and pulling out a vial. He glared at the male and female ninja in front of him and tried to squirm out of his ropes.

"It's no use, boy, you're not getting out of this alive" the female smirked at the defiant look in the boy's blue eyes. "Now, now don't give me that look."

Naruto ignored her words and continued to glare at the two. He was punched in the stomach for doing so. "What do you want with me?" the words came out in a slight groan as the pain of a broken rib spread through his body.

"To kill you of course" the man said

"Why!?" he hissed, the fear was present in his voice but not his eyes, they were loud and angry.

"You are a potential threat in the making. Konoha doesn't need any more of those." The female didn't look at him as she uncorked the vial she had been holding. "Konoha has been on top for way too long, they need to be knocked down a few pegs before they get too comfy."

Naruto's glare turned frigid cold. He tried to spit at the man holding him down and at the lady with the vial, but missed.

"Now, now, what have I told you about that look of yours?" The lady smirked as the hate in Naruto's eyes didn't dissipate. "I guess we just have to teach you a lesson."

Before Naruto could react the bubbling liquid was splashed onto his face. There was no time for him to close his eyes as it impacted. It burned. Hotter than any other liquid he had ever felt before. He could literally feel it eat his skin away, but he did not scream, not even once, they wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing him in pain.

The sound nin however, didn't like that, and slashed his stomach, tearing the clothing and skin apart. Finally Naruto couldn't take it anymore; he thrashed in an attempt to get them to stop. Inside him chakra started to gather in response to his pain.

_Stab_.

_Stab._

_Stab._

That was it, the boiling point. He let out a scream that could have shattered glass. Silvery blue chakra exploded from him, knocking his attackers away. The wind blew with the force of a hurricane and leaves scattered in the sky.

The scattering leaves started to collect together before transforming into a mass of glowing green energy. It seemed as time had stopped for a moment. No sounds could be heard, and all movements had ceased, all except for the figure of a boy now drenched in blood. His silvery blue chakra encasing his body, at the same time it burned and protected him.

The glowing green mass in the air seemed to charge at Naruto. Only for his own chakra to shoot up and meet the green one half way. They mingled together, before finally being absorbed back into the boy's body. Leaving a battered Naruto with various burns all over his body but his wounds were gone.

Kakashi watched with fear evident in his eyes. He couldn't move, in fact nothing _was_ moving. The wind that had blown through just a moment ago had completely disappeared, leaving a still forest with a massive glowing green mass hovering above it. Even the enemy and Yamato couldn't move.

What made him shake with fear was the sight of Naruto's body after the strange force came into contact with him. Blood stained his shredded clothing and burns littered all over his small form. It was visible even from the distance between them.

The only thing Kakashi saw was red as he rammed his **Chidori **coveredfist into both the Kumo and Iwa shinobi. Apparently he was the only one to have recovered judging by the dazed looks on the faces of Yamato and the other nins before he killed them.

Kakashi rushed to Naruto as fast as he could. The only thing keeping him conscious was the adrenaline pumping in his veins. The sight of Naruto's small body being wracked with seizures was the only thing that registered in his mind. He didn't even notice that one of the sound nins had been impaled in the stomach by a low branch.

When the ANBU finally arrived on the scene moments later they saw an exhausted Copy-nin cradling an almost unrecognizable Uzumaki Naruto. The boy's face was burned as well as most of his body. Blood caked his clothing even though there were no wounds on his person. His hair had been matted down by sweat and his body was still seizing.

Kakashi managed to stand up with the boy in his arms and took a few uneasy steps toward the captain. With a raspy voice he addressed the person. "Get him to the hospital…NOW." Everything after that went black as Kakashi lost consciousness.

In the distance they could see Yamato breathing heavy, the fights had taken a toll on his body and when that mysterious power appeared it seemed as if his energy was literally being sucked away from him. 

The man barely had managed to stagger to the other ANBU members before he collapsed, but didn't lose consciousness.

In haste, the ANBU carried the three to the village not even stopping to check in with the gate patrol. While few stayed to collect the dead and unconscious bodies of the enemy ninja. Even they felt a little green at the sight of the female ninja impaled to the tree.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dun. Hope my fight scenes weren't that badly detailed, but the fights weren't really that important anyways. I know my writing style keeps changing, and I'm trying to fix that so just bear with me for a bit. Maybe someday I'll rewrite these chapters.**

**Naruto: What the hell you do to me?! White hair?! Seizures?!**

**Nicx: Be a good little container and read the next chapter to find out.**

**Naruto: -Growls-**

**Nicx: Tsk tsk don't make me take away your ramen**

**Naruto :….I'll be good…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait, but it took me a while to adjust to being back in school...sigh. And also I really HATE the editor for this...I'm trying to separate the parts of the chapter but instead of spacing it out like I want to it bunches it together...so sorry if its difficult to read.**

****

About the Kakashi and Yamato beating those elite ninja is plausible. Take account the fact that they were the best, yes the best, but not in combat, in infiltration. While Kakashi and Yamato are more combat oriented ninja. Two of them were genjutsu experts, which won't really work on Kakashi. The other two were in a daze when Kakashi took them out...so ya. Hope that clears things up. I'll edit the chapter so its a bit clearer.

**Well anyway I have great news! (drum rolls)**

**This story's got a plot now! A flexible plot, but a plot nonetheless. **

**Many thanks to my Beta, Demion69 for helping me out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Darn...**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

He could hear the voices around him. Their words were more like unintelligible mumbles than anything else.

His skin felt as if it were burning, especially his face. If he could move there was no doubt that he would feel a ripple of pain with every motion, but he couldn't so it didn't really matter, did it?

Under him was the ground, or something else that itched like dry grass. Pain shot through him as he felt his body spasm. It felt like it lasted forever, until finally everything halted. The mumbled voices turned into distant whispers, he was no longer on the ground, but rather…floating?

His surrounds were fading and fast, the feeling of being swept away creeping closer and closer. Till finally he was gone, all sense of consciousness lost.

* * *

The heart monitor beeped steadily as the doctors and med nins operated on the young Uzumaki. In the rush to the hospital Naruto had punctured a lung and his charred skin had started to rip and blister, causing blood to slowly seep everywhere. It required a combination of both medic ninjutsu and the more scientific methods to keep his body functioning.

A majority of Konoha's population didn't like the boy. Most of them were civilians and a few ninja, simply put; they were scared that what they considered a ticking time bomb was free to walk on the streets. However there was still a good portion of the village that had no negative opinions on the boy, because mostly they didn't care. If you asked people why they hated him, most would forget their reason. Life was like that sometimes, people will judge not even knowing why, just because others do. Konoha's Hospital was filled mostly with people who would just treat Naruto as just another patient, nothing better nothing worse.

The heart monitor's steady beat was suddenly disrupted, being replaced by an erratic one. Hands moved quickly and orders were given. He was flat lining.

A medic prepared a modified Raiton jutsu to jump start the organ. One, two three…

_Zap._

Naruto's body convulsed in reaction to the shock, but the monitor refused to return to the steady tempo of a beating heart. The medic prepared another, more powerful shock. Right before he tapped the organ it started to pulse and pump.

The occupants inside the room breathed a sigh of relief. However it soon turned into a hitched breath. Naruto's heart had gone from a slow steady beat to an overly accelerated tempo. The boy's heart was beating as fast as Maito Gai's would during a fight. Never a good sign for someone who's unconscious.

All the stress on Naruto's body had caused the repaired lung to tear at the stitches, it was as if his ribs had punctured it yet again. The medics had to move quickly to not only repair the boy's lung but to slow down the speed at which his heart was beating. If this continued there was no telling what could happen.

* * *

He could feel himself slipping away; everything was getting darker and darker. In the distance there was a light, it was too far away from him though. The darkness was winning, soon it would be pitch black. A feeling of foreboding washed through him as he saw faces of the few people he treasured flash through his mind.

Was he dying? No. This wouldn't end yet...there was just so much left he needed to accomplish.

With the power of his own will light exploded from all around. It was hazy, like he was watching everything through half lidded eyes.

The beating of his chest was roaring into his ears and getting louder by the second. Pain seared through his chest and his mind felt like it was exploding. He clutched his head in an attempt to make it stop, but his efforts were useless. Cries escaped his mouth, but they just echoed even louder in his head.

"Stop!"

"Someone make it stop!"

"Please…"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore, his head was exploding, every single sound he made reverberated into a noise thirty times louder. Every word, cry, breath, and heart beat sounded like jackhammers pounding inside him.

"_Now, now Naru-chan, don't cry, I'm here"_

The noises started to fade, only the sound of a baby's cries could he heard. Cautiously he opened his eyes, but he saw nothing but white. Looking down, he didn't even see his own body. With a hand he touched his face, the hand was there but he couldn't see it. '_What the hell?'_

The infant's cry started to fade as a lullaby was sung. It seemed so familiar, that voice, that song. Where had he heard it before?

"_That's my boy, no more tears eh Naru-chan?_" the voice said. It warmed him just by the way it sounded.

'_What?_' Naruto looked around trying desperately to find the source. His vision never changed, the perpetual whiteness unwavering. Dammit! He wanted to see, find the source...a voice that sounded so familiar and loving...so...so...parental?

"_You're gonna be Konoha's hero, and don't let anyone tell you differently." _

Warm breezes blew in his face as he felt himself being lifted. In the distance there was a faint roaring followed by a blast of chakra. Strong arms were carrying him, making him feel so tiny and yet safe at the same time.

"_This is goodbye Naru-chan, I can't watch over you where I'm going, but no matter what you'll make me proud." _A soft hand cupped his cheek, but when Naruto brought up his own to touch it he felt nothing but his own face.

Suddenly he was floating, the embrace that held him gone. Warm arms were replaced by the floor, slightly rough, but bearable. His eyes fluttered as the white started to fade into a welcome darkness. Finally they closed and he rested.

* * *

The team of medics watched as the hole in the boy's lung close up. His body's fifth degree burns healed at a fast but steady pace that was visible to the naked eye. The charred muscle was slowly regenerating and the skin started to repair itself.

In the room the people could only stare in awe, and slowly the heart monitor relaxed to a steady strong tempo. Quickly the staff moved to bandage the healing skin, preventing any infection, while others continued to feed green chakra into Naruto. Who in return seemed to drain anything they offered.

Hours later he was wheeled into a room to recover. A few doors over lay a passed out silver haired ANBU Captain, the wounds he received were nowhere near critical. A few broken bones here and there and a case of chakra exhaustion, nothing a few medical ninjutsu couldn't cure.

* * *

Three days had passed when Hatake Kakashi first came back to the realm of consciousness. He was greeted by the sight of the bland ceiling and walls of a typical hospital room. Within the span of mere seconds the memories came rushing back to him, along with an overload of emotions. Anger, fear, panic, and so many other things clouded his reasoning.

Without another thought he pushed past the nurses who were trying to restrain him. After ploughing through and occasionally decking a few orderlies around, he found himself gazing at a small bandaged figure with white hair.

Naruto had yet to come out of his coma. Whatever had happened in the operating room had strained his body. There were wires connecting him to monitors and an oxygen tank helping him breathe. Just looking at him made Kakashi's own breathing difficult.

However nothing prepared him for the information that was written in the chart hanging almost innocently from the foot of the hospital bed.

Uzumaki Naruto had sustained so much retinal damage from an unknown substance that he would forever see the world through a blind man's eyes.

A chart tumbled on the floor as Hatake Kakashi's knees failed to support his weight. Slowly he was crumbling, barely able to catch himself from falling. Once again he had failed, another person was hurt on his watch.

* * *

An enraged Danzo was glaring at a few of his fellow council members. "See what happened?! If I was just given the resource those miscreants would be bowing down to us not trying to upsurge our power!"

"If we gave you the power you would do nothing but use it to turn half of the population into mindless war drones!" Came a shout from another council member along with various calls of agreement.

"Enough already! We can't focus on what happened in the past, but must focus on the future." Sarutobi really did not want to be a veteran of yet another war, neither did anyone else. Unfortunately we don't 

get everything we want in life. "There are messages from Kumo and Iwa demanding peace talks. They claim that the ninja who infiltrated our village were missing-nin and were not under their orders."

"Bullshit." All eyes concentrated on the Inuzuka clan head, Tsume. "They're just trying to cover up their tracks and you know it Hokage-sama." It was logical. In the world of politics people would squirm their way through everything.

"As plausible as that might be there is no way of knowing for sure. Kumo's claim is more valid. Two of the ninja's identified were indeed from Kumo, but they had been declared missing-nin six years ago." Aburame Shibi decided to put his two cents in. "In Iwa's case they were only declared missing-nin a few months ago. It is highly illogical for Kumo to be planning this as far back as then, our success wasn't substantial enough then."

The council was quiet for a moment processing that information, before Nara Shikaku spoke up. "Whatever the case, we have to keep our minds open for all possibilities. That new village, Otogakure, is also something we have to watch out for. They haven't yet reacted to any of the past days events." The Nara clan head rubbed his chin in thought for a moment. "Iwa's forces haven't had the luxury to climb as ours have, and more likely than not Kumo is trying to remain neutral, the new Raikage doesn't seem to be as interested in warfare as the previous one" No one missed the glance Shikaku gave the Hyuuga head, Kumo was still a sore subject to the Hyuugas.

Sarutobi gave a puff to his pipe while tuning out the rest of the talks. They had moved into more, less logical theories that didn't make sense. What really mattered was getting down to who was the real enemy, who was neutral, and who was friendly. Worst case scenario: two major villages and one unknown minor one vs. Konoha.

Iwa's forces were still low and Kumo usually avoided the actual fighting in favour of political warfare. They would more likely close of trade routes and cripple countries financially than fight with fists. Not very ninja like but effective. Konoha wouldn't suffer that much, but still it would take a chunk out of their income.

The wild card would be Oto, there was no information that the village even existed before until a few days ago. For a village to stay under the radar that long told them that it was either too small to worry about or that they were so skilful that they hadn't raised even a bit of suspicion.

"What do you think, Hokage-sama?" Homura, his old team-mate looked at him with a glint in his eye. Sarutobi was internally cursing the man, now of all times he was putting their rivalry into action.

A few seats over Koharu shook her head in frustration. Now was not the time for her former team-mates to go into some pissing contest. Homura never wanted to be Hokage, but that didn't stop him from wanting to piss off Sarutobi every chance he got, their rivalry stretched the words definition to its max. Sometimes they seemed more like enemies than allies. "We were wondering if you had any thoughts on the possibility of any other villages coming into play. Say Kiri and Suna perhaps?" She ignored the glare Homura gave her for spoiling his fun.

Sarutobi gave a grateful nod in her direction before addressing the room. "It's not a completely invalid possibility, but highly unlikely. They are far too wrapped up in their civil war to get involved with another great shinobi war. Suna relies on our trade for agricultural support too much to risk a war." His gaze wandered over to the Yamanaka head. "As for the three surviving ninja, have their interrogations revealed anything yet?"

Inoichi sighed and shook his head. "Two are still unconscious and the other is still in session with Ibiki"

The Sandaime nodded and the discussions continued. A lot of things were going to be changing in the village.

* * *

Kakashi sat in the chair beside Naruto's hospital bed. Few had tried to force him to stay in his own, but they were shortly introduced to the floor or wall, which ever was most convenient. He had woken up after three days, and rushed directly to Naruto's room despite his body's protests.

It was now the fifth day and his body was still suffering the effects of chakra exhaustion. His broken left leg had been set, and was currently wrapped up in a cast, while his right arm was wrapped up in bandages from the burns caused by his **Chidori**.

Naruto received the most life threatening damage between the three of them. Yamato had escaped with a severe case of chakra exhaustion and minor injuries, he would just need a few days rest before he would be up and about again. Naruto on the other hand had burns that varied from third to fifth degree all over his body. The most damage was located in his facial muscles which were slightly charred. The boy's face had been covered mostly in fifth degree burns when they first arrived. Luckily though the burns had lessened, now ranging from first to third degree. It amazed everyone to see how fast he was healing.

Lab tests had confirmed that the damage on his face wasn't chakra burns like the ones that covered the rest of his body, but were of acidic origin. It was an unknown acid, the only information that they could gather was that it was supposed to leave more damage than it had. Kakashi had a feeling that if it wasn't for that abnormal chakra that had appeared in the forest, he would be face to face with a skull instead of a heavily scarred face.

It was true that Naruto was healing abnormally fast, but that still didn't mean he was in the clear. The rib he broke had punctured his lung and currently the boy was relying on a respirator to breathe while the organ healed. Three nurses came by regularly to change his bandages and hang a different IV. Occasionally one would stop by and make sure Kakashi would eat something. Using one or two words he would indicate whether he was hungry or not, the whole time his eyes would be glued to the rising and falling of Naruto's chest. As if it would stop if he looked away even for just a second.

"Oi, Kakashi you know you're really starting to stink it up in here." Anko had been chosen for today's 'Kakashi check-up' He had been sitting in that spot for almost three days. Asuma and Kurenai had gone on the other days but none had any success. "He'll still be alive and breathing if you decide to take a shower, you know." The lack of response was really starting to tick her off.

'_Fine. Be that way, bastard_.' She huffed and picked up the chart at the end of the kid's bed and started flipping through pages. "Wow, gaki got himself into some deep shit." She whistled. Kakashi twitched in his seat.

"It's my fault." His voice was cold and monotone, never once did he turn away from Naruto. "I took him out that day, I put him in that danger, I-"

"I this, I that, you're whining Kakashi." She kept reading the papers. "No one knew they were coming. Shit happens, deal with it."

"Deal with it?! How do you expect me to deal with the fact that because of me Naruto almost died!" With his visible eye Kakashi glared at the woman and for the first time broke his eye-contact with Naruto. (not counting sleep)

'_Step one complete.'_ Without even knowing it Kakashi was playing right into Anko's trap. "Well, he's not dead yet, is he?"

"That's not the point Anko. I failed." Kakashi stood up and fingered his hands through the boy's white hair while being careful not to touch the bandaged skin. "He's the only one left, and I promised to never fail him, my promise was more like a curse."

"So what? He's breathing. You should know better than to fuss over things like this idiot. You're a ninja, act like one." It was a bit harsh, but it was something the guy needed to hear.

"Hmm, ninja you say? You know Naruto always said he'd be the best ninja ever. Surpassing even the Yondaime." Kakashi gave a small, sad chuckle. "It's because of my fuck-up that it won't happen." He turned to look at Anko their eyes meeting. "Don't you see? He might be alive, but his dream is dead, and I practically killed it."

"What the hell are you talking about Kakashi?"

He walked up to her and pulled the chart out of her hands. Quickly flipping through the pages he stopped at one and showed her its contents. "It's because of me that he's blind. What kind of ninja would a blind person make? All his life the world's been against him, and I just go and make it worse. It's all my-"

_Slap._

Anko glared at the Jounin, this wasn't Kakashi, _this_ was just a shell of himself. "Can you even hear yourself talking you moron! It's not your goddam fault! And you're going to give up just like that, feh, and here I thought the Yondaime would teach his students better than that." Okay low blow but there wasn't really a choice. _'Step two…complete.'_

Kakashi's eye hardened. "Don't talk about sensei that way, at least he didn't-" he stopped himself in realization of what he was going to say, but Anko caught it.

"At least he didn't betray the village, right? That's what you were going to say?" The two stood there for a moment glaring at each other, before Kakashi finally broke the contact.

"Sorr-"

"I don't want your pity, Hatake." She turned and headed toward the door. "Just remember not to give up on the kid, if he really wants to be a ninja then this thing won't stop him." Kakashi didn't move his eyes still looking at her. "He worships the ground you walk on, if you don't think he can do it, he won't either." Anko stopped at the door way. "And take a shower, you smell worse than Gai's dirty laundry."

Kakashi watched her go, the words burning into his memory. He took another look at Naruto's bandaged up face. _'If you think you can, I will too.'_ With a few sniffs of himself the Jounin decided that a shower wouldn't be that bad and left the boy's side for the first time.

* * *

In front of the Hokage Kakashi stood handing the man some papers. "You're sure about this?" the old man asked.

"Not really, but that's as sure as I'll ever be."

"You know that this means you're eligible as Jounin sensei now right?" He quirked an eyebrow at the newly resigned ANBU.

"I can always fail them." He briefly flashed an eye-smile, before turning serious again. "So do you think you could get the council to go through with this?"

The Third read over the papers Kakashi had just given him. He knew of Naruto's condition and had made it to visit the boy at least three times in the past six days, but there was nothing much to do with him still out cold. Kakashi had decided that it was finally time for him to give up his post as an ANBU Captain, appointing Yamato/Tenzou as the new one.

When news of Naruto's condition was released, the tension around the boy started to relax. They were not told about his vision, but all they knew was that he was severely crippled, possibly ruining any chance of not having a civilian life.

The ones who thought of him as a ticking time bomb slowly defused and those who thought that he should become Konoha's weapon slowly disappeared. Not everyone had a change of heart over night, but just knowing that Kyuubi's container wasn't as indestructible as everyone thought, certainly changed some opinions.

Kakashi had proposed another attempt of full custody of Naruto. The Uchihas were no longer a problem, none of the other clans wanted him anymore, and Danzo had no need of a disabled weapon. Really Kakashi would be in the clear. "I don't see any problems here Kakashi, there's just some paperwork and more legalities we have to go through before we can make it final."

The Jounin nodded. "How long do you think that would take?"

"It could be weeks, even months." Seeing Kakashi about to retort he continued. "I know I'm the Hokage, but the only thing I can do is sign the forms when they pass to me. There's still protocol that you have to go through. People don't just go to an orphanage one day and walk out with a child."

Disappointed, Kakashi just nodded. "We've waited eight years for something like this, a few weeks can't hurt I guess."

"My thoughts exactly." Said the Third Hokage with a slight smile. "You're going to train him, aren't you?"

For a moment Kakashi's eyes held hesitation, before he finally shook his head and spoke confidently. "Yes, if he still wants to be a ninja then I'll do everything I can to help."

With one final sigh Sarutobi signed the ANBU resignation papers. "You've got a long road ahead of you."

* * *

**Yep. Naruto lost his sight. But, that's not all, there are many more plans for this story. I'll be taking you on so many twist and turns you'll be to dizzy to walk straight by the time I'm through. So expect the unexpected!**

**Something I would like to point out is that the pairings for this story…are either not going to exist or won't be the main focus. If there are any it's going to be a het pairing (except maybe Sai…idk if he's straight or not yet…) and you would most likely have to squint to see it as 'romance'. But, nothing's set in stone yet so we just have to see how it goes.**

**Also about character bashing…I'm not going to do any of that, each person will have their purpose in this story. Sasuke will not be bashed, Sakura will not be bashed, etc. etc. I'll try and keep them as 'in-character' as possible, but this is **_**my**_** story so I'll write it how **_**I **_**want to. But your opinions matter to me and help me decide, so let me hear your voices!**

**-Nicx Vee**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everybody sorry this chapter is out a bit late, but I got lost in a pile of textbooks. **

**NOTE: This chapter is now beta-ed courtesy of Demion69. I got the e-mail today and am currently sitting at one of those internet cafe thingamajigs. This thing was a pain to post up btw, the editor on this site just hates me...sigh **

**Disclaimer : I don't own any of Kishimoto's works. (these things are annoying to write)**

**  
****Chapter 7**

* * *

_(/\/\/\/\/Twelve days since failed infiltration/\/\/\/\/)_

This was torture. Complete and utter torture straight from the depths of a grown man's nightmares. Only someone like Ibiki himself could dream up something worse than this.  
Paperwork.

Just hearing the word made Kakashi shudder. What the hell does knowing what education his mother had, have anything to do with taking custody of a three foot nine eight year old? But there it was sitting in front of him over one hundred pages of forms basically asking him about his life story. One that he'd rather keep to himself, thank you very much.

The hand holding the pen was starting to cramp. It was a well known fact that Kakashi's organization and form filling skills were next to nil. Just finding out his average income over the past five years took him forever. Things like that didn't even make it into his list of 'important' things. As long as he could continue to indulge himself in Jiraiya-sama's writing he was happy.

Sometimes he wouldn't even check what the mission pay was like. Hell, he didn't even know how much was in his savings until today. Someone could have hi-jacked the lot of it over the years and he wouldn't notice a thing. Okay...probably shouldn't mention that.

Kakashi's apartment itself was stretching the definition of 'bachelor' to its limits and boarding on uneducated slob. At four years old Naruto had pointed that out the first time he stepped into the place. That was harsh, getting scolded by a toddler.

The Jounin sighed. A blind man would probably die as a result of tripping over all the hazardous junk lying around there. '_Damn_.' That would mean he would have to clean. '_Double damn.'_ He lived in a simple one bedroom flat, not really the best place for two people. _'Note to self: Find new apartment.'_ Now if only he didn't lose that note...

Paperwork really _was_ as bad as Hokage-sama made it seem, no matter how much he glared it wouldn't get the hint and take a hike. It was still there only half filled, and he had already covered most of his life. Really at this point he wouldn't be surprised if they asked for when he lost his virginity...okay maybe he would be. Just a bit.

Speaking of virgin, Gai had promised to write the required recommendation for Kakashi to take Naruto into custody. The man claimed that it was his duty to write the 'glowing' biography on the character of his eternal rival. That was good, because no one else really wanted to.

He sighed. That got him thinking about Naruto again. The boy had suffered a lot, but things were starting to look up. His burns were already starting to look like just bad sunburns. Well...in most areas anyway, his face was still marred heavily with scars, but at the rate the rest of his body was healing it should be okay soon. Hopefully.

That left him to think about the real problem. Could Naruto really be a ninja? A blind one nonetheless. How could he even teach him? Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, there were way too many thoughts mulling through his head to concentrate on filling out the rest of the forms.

Capping his pen the silver headed man stood up. Ignoring the piles of papers scattered everywhere he walked out the door. There was one place that could help him right now, and it was about time he visited it again.

* * *

Konoha's Library was a peculiar place. The appearance it took was of a two story building with a whole bunch of dusty and crusty literature. In actuality it rested above the key entrance to a labyrinth of passages and corridors that took up a good portion of Konoha. There were very few entrances to it, one being behind a bookcase in the section about politics and various other hidden entrances around the village.

There were very few individuals who knew of its existence and even fewer who had access to it. Konoha couldn't just leave scrolls of the techniques it had acquired through the years laying about, and that was originally the purpose of the hidden tunnels. Eventually it branched out and started holding the village's most dangerous secrets in the shinobi world, even the council wasn't trusted enough with the information.

Basically it was an underground crypt of secrets. The walls were made of stone and traps were implemented all over the place. On the walls themselves were miles of seals. A product of the Yondaime's time of rule. Even Jiraiya himself didn't know the full purpose of all the characters, but Minato wasn't a genius for nothing. Each one had its purpose, but some purposes were better left unknown.

One known function was to keep the unwanted out. A seal was given to a guardian by a Hokage, usually the current one if both the predecessor and successor were alive. It was known as the 'guardian's seal' and it was not visible to the naked eye not even to those with a doujutsu. Like most high level seals it was only visible when active, and even then could only be seen by another wearing the guardian's seal. Its purpose was simple, protect the guardian's mind from shattering.

Jiraiya had first come up with the seal so that it would only open entrances, but Minato had expanded on the idea. He had written seals on the walls to constantly emit wave signals powerful enough to disrupt and destroy nerves and receptors in a human brain. The only shield was the guardian's seal itself.

Kakashi strolled through the dimly lit passageways of the labyrinth. He had been given the seal by his sensei shortly after Minato became the Yondaime. It was a big responsibility and honour all at once. Minato had not only shown Kakashi how much trust he had in his student, but also entrusted him with all of Konoha's secrets.

There were rooms upon rooms of information held here. Generations worth of them, and not all of it started with the Shodai. No, the secrets dated back long before then. For not only were information on all of Konoha since its founding stored here, but also all the knowledge Konoha's founders had brought with them.

Before there were hidden villages, all ninjas were nomads. Nomads who soon became wandering clans. Clans who soon joined together to form tribes, and tribes who soon formed the villages themselves.  
All in all, the entire hidden maze under Konoha didn't just hold a couple of generations of history, but held hundreds or even thousands of years worth of it. Each bit passed down from generation to generation dating back to the first ninjas themselves.

It was the perfect place for information, the perfect place for answers. Which was good, because Kakashi had questions. Lots of them.

Down here was basically a maze. Twists and turns all around and traps everywhere. There was no map, just the experience that ran through your mind. Kakashi had gotten lost in here before, the very first time he had gone down here alone. He had just joined ANBU and was somehow assigned to one of the tracker units. At first he figured it was some joke from his sensei, but no.

Minato had decided that he relied too much on Obito's Sharingan, that he didn't even know where his student Kakashi was anymore, he only saw the famous 'copy ninja'. It was a test...sort of. Did he have the skills? Could he be a real ninja to adapt to any situation? Or did he become some one trick pony?

At first, it angered him, but the more he thought the more he realized it was true. After weeks of constantly being a hindrance to his squad Kakashi finally had enough. He decided that he needed help, and clearly the Sharingan wasn't what his sensei wanted him to use. So off to the dungeon he went.

Clearly it was a bad idea; he hadn't even had his seal for a year yet and not nearly enough experience to walk its hallways alone. Shortly after entering he was lost in corridors where the walls would sometimes change, shifting in a never ending dance. One entry would close after he'd pass and another would open. So he wandered and wandered until he came upon this one room.

Apparently before the Inuzuka clan had animal familiars from the actual canines of this world, they had the aid of the dogs of the summon plane. Their scroll however had been passed down, and a few decades before the formation of Konoha it had been offered as a peace offering to the Senju clan for an alliance. Eventually a descendant of the Senju became what's known today as Konoha's Shodai Hokage, the founder of this labyrinth, and he had locked the scroll up leaving it forgotten.

That was before Hatake Kakashi got a hold of it. With the permission of his sensei, he became the new Ninken summoner. Eventually with time he became a great tracker, making him one of the few well rounded ANBU members, which allowed him to secure a position as a squad captain.  
Ever since then, Kakashi did not go wandering aimlessly down there with no purpose. Aside from the fact that it was plain creepy, it was dangerous. Unless you could read the mysterious language written on the walls intermixing themselves with the seals, you were hopeless. Add to the fact that it was nearly pitch black down there and you would be at a complete loss.

But still he went down there, and mentally mapped its maze like pattern, carefully calculating the timing of when the walls change and shift. Lately he hadn't needed to venture down into its depths. Now though he had a purpose. The blind boy with the dream of becoming the world's best ninja.

There wasn't much success. Unlike a library there wasn't much organization down here. Most things were organized in chronological order and which part of the world they came from. Every room would need to be checked to get all the information possible, and that would take _months._ Kakashi didn't have much spare time in his hands. There were missions to do among other things, but soon he found that those other things suddenly took a backseat to Naruto's dreams.

Eighty percent of the time he wasn't on missions was now spent researching. The other twenty was either visiting Naruto, or resting. It wasn't exactly the healthiest thing to do, but no matter what anyone said, this was his fault and he would fix it.

* * *

_(/\/\/\/\/Fifteen days since failed infiltration/\/\/\/\/)_

Naruto was floating..._again. _This feeling, he concluded, wasn't as great as it was cracked up to be. Being weightless in a sea of white nothingness was so _creepy_.

He had remembered everything, the ninjas, the pain, that _voice._ Even now he didn't know who it belonged to, but at the same time he felt that he should know. It reminded him of Kakashi's voice when he would cry and the man would try to comfort him. Not that he cried anymore, of course he didn't.  
But it was so real, and he actually felt like he was there. The warm night breezes ruffling his hair, he even felt that hand touch his cheek! It was too real to be a dream, so maybe it wasn't? Maybe it was just a trick of his mind from being trapped here.

Come to think of it, where exactly was _here_? Was he dead? Because if he was he wasn't sure whether this was heaven or hell, but were all his pranks really enough to buy him a ticket to the latter of the two?

Just as Naruto was about to lose himself in thought the whiteness slowly faded. Finally he could make out a few things. Trees? Furry little animals? Naruto scrunched his brow, trying to remember where the heck he saw this before.

And that's when he saw it. In the middle of a clearing was a baby, blond haired and blue eyed, bawling his eyes out. What made his heart race was the fact that those eyes, those cerulean irises, were the same as his own. He squinted a bit and saw the three whisker marks on each side of the infant's cheek. '_No way..._'

It was him...no it couldn't be, this crying brat was blond, and he was pretty sure he wasn't blond. The reflection he saw everyday told him so.

He willed his floating self to go towards the infant, but before he could the world distorted again. This time he found himself watching a flash of all his memories from that day forward in one rapid movement. It was as if someone had pressed fast forward on his entire life.

The funny thing about it was the fact that it wasn't ever in his own perspective but often in the exact opposite direction the 'him' in his memories was facing. He would always get a different view; he would see the world around the memory, not what he was doing in it.

It was odd and unnerving; didn't they always say that your memories flash before you before you die?

* * *

_(/\/\/\/\/Fifteen days since failed infiltration-Twelve Noon KST /\/\/\/\/)_

"So what's this thing supposed to do again?" The machines connected to Naruto beeped a bit and wavy lines started to appear on the screen faster.

"Anko, do I look like a doctor to you?" Asuma drawled.

"Geez, who stuck the stick up your ass? What's the matter, chimney? Haven't gotten laid recently?" She darted her eyes from Asuma to Kurenai, sniggering a bit when the two denied the accusation a little too fast.

Kurenai tried to change the subject the only way she knew how. "What are we doing here anyway?"

"Dunno."

"No clue"

"TO LEND NARUTO-KUN OUR POWER OF YOUTH!" Gai dodged the lunch tray flying through the room from the across the hall.

"Shut the hell up some of us are trying to recover here!!" An unfamiliar voice yelled from their hospital bed.

Gai muttered a 'sorry' before finally falling into silence along with the others in the room. They had been looking for Kakashi, but it seemed as if the man had disappeared for the past few days and figured that this place was as good as any to find them. Somehow, they ended up staying even with the lack of Kakashi's presence.

"Sooo..." Anko attempted to break the tension, but fumed and twitched a bit when they ignored her, even Gai! '_Fine. See if I care._' She scoffed and the room stayed quiet, everyone seemed in deep thought. Only the constant beeping of the machines was heard.

Naruto looked considerably better; they were able to remove the bandages around his legs and his lower arms. The rest of his body like his chest and upper arms had bandages on, but that was mostly just to prevent infection to the new skin that had amazingly started to grow. His face was the worst off, probably because it was the most damaged from the beginning.

Bandages were especially thick around the eyes. Whatever had caused the burns on Naruto's face was also responsible for the destruction of nearly every essential part of the eye's anatomy.

Almost sixteen different eye tests were given. The majority of them confirmed the lack of living and functioning cells in the blue orbs. His optic nerve had practically shut down, and the MRI results showed that the entire occipital lobe was not even functioning.

That fact still baffled Naruto's doctors, both the med nins and scientific ones. Normally the damage would have been in his eyes only and the occipital lobe would be left in tact, but for some reason it had shut down. There were many theories but none of them knew what was exactly happening here. No way would the acid be specific enough to penetrate through the eyes to attack only the back of the brain. It was just impossible to do without damaging the rest of it.

Another thing that disturbed the staff was the rest of his brain. By all accounts the frontal lobe should have suffered at least _some_ damage, but it was showing more activity than a normal _healthy _persons', as was the rest of his brain. Results had shown that 88 percent of Naruto's brain was active, that was almost _nine_ times more than any humans' should have been. It had put everyone on the edge. With results like that he should have been seizing and having dozens of strokes by now, but he wasn't, and that was a mystery in itself.

In the room Anko was digging through Naruto's chart again out of boredom, looking at the kid's long history of hospital visits. Asuma was _trying_ to light a cigarette but it was always snatched away from him by Kurenai. Gai however was standing by the window strangely quiet.

The eccentric man was looking at Konoha, the village he served with all of his youthfulness. He looked at the Hokage Mountain and frowned. Naruto always boasted about being up there one day, to the point of irritating others. Now it seemed as if that dream was getting a little too far.

Partly he blamed himself, he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't get the unyouthful thought out of him. Naruto had come to him for training. At first the boy seemed like a hopeless cause when it came to taijutsu, he just couldn't get that unpredictable brawler fighting style out of his system. But Naruto surprised him with the amount of work ethic he put into training. He worked hard and progressed rapidly and he finally got the hang of it, especially when they started using chakra. Gai had seen a large amount of potential in the boy, so much that it was scary.

Gai had learned from experience that power not only destroys your enemies, but some of yourself as well. There was proof in the people around him, Hyuugas and Uchihas especially. Most were born and raised as killing machines, and...most usually ended up snapping before age twenty. Well, maybe not most, but there were enough that did. Some snaps weren't always noticeable, barely blimps on the radar, and yet sometimes...you get one large enough to wipe out nearly every Uchiha in Konoha.

Kakashi, his eternal rival and best friend was one of those who almost snapped. As a boy he lived in the shadow of his father's shame, driving himself to be a textbook definition of a shinobi. Cold, heartless, and by the book. It wasn't until the death of his team mate that Kakashi was saved. But the cost was too high, way too high. In fact if it wasn't for Naruto the former ANBU could have gone psychopath all over Konoha after his sensei's death.

But for once Gai was regretting his decision, maybe if he taught Naruto to his potential the boy might have been able to get away fast enough, but he didn't and it was weighing down on his conscience.  
Anko looked up from the boring chart when she noticed Gai's fist clench. The other two in the room noticed it too, and when the normally eccentric Jounin's eyes darted to the white haired boy they put the puzzle pieces together.

"I swear if I have to give that talk to you too I'm not going to do it without making someone bleed." Anko reached for a kunai.

Gai laughed nervously before giving her the 'good guy' pose. "Sorry, my flames of youth dimmed a bit, BUT THEY SHALL NEVER BE-" He didn't get to finish as three kunai coming from different directions flew towards him.

"Gai, your our friend and all, but shut up" Asuma said with a bit of a glare.

Kurenai shot the smoker a look before addressing Gai. "What the lazy-ass is trying to say is, _please_ use your inside voice so we don't get kicked out...again."

"Or else." Anko without missing a beat pulled out another kunai and aimed it at the man's more...sensitive parts.

The bowl cut topped man gulped and nodded slowly. "Sure, sure, sorry." They were about to fall into another awkward silence when Asuma asked a question.

"So what's with this kid anyway?" Asuma had just returned from serving as one of the Daimyo's elite guardians. He still didn't understand why Kakashi was so attached to this kid, sure he was the Kyuubi container and all, but this was _Kakashi_.

Kurenai answered for the three. "No one's really sure, probably has to do with the fact that his sensei performed the sealing."

Gai got into his ready stance to proclaim that it was all due to Kakashi's flames of youth, but quickly deflated when he saw the glint of two kunai and one trench knife.

* * *

_(/\/\/\/\/Fifteen days since failed infiltration – 3:00pm KST/\/\/\/\/)_

Kakashi was sitting in the training ground by the memorial stone. It had been a while since he last visited this place, and he felt a little guilty for that.

"I'm sorry I let you down, sensei" Kakashi paused almost as if waiting for a response, but sighed when none came as expected. "You would be kicking my ass if you saw me right now...you too Obito." Slowly he sat down and leaned his back against the monument. "I can't help it though, it's like you all over again, Obito, but Naruto was a defenceless civilian child, not even a ninja yet."

He groaned and shook his head. He knew better than to brood, but this wasn't brooding. It was just feeling guilty for your actions...great he was in denial too.

There was a rustle in the bushes and out stepped the Hokage. "I thought I might find you here, finally decided to come out for fresh air?"

Kakashi nodded and turned his head to face the old man. "There wasn't much information I could find down there, and I couldn't stay down any longer without suffering chakra exhaustion."

"Yeah, the seals will do that to you" Sarutobi walked up to the stone and took a little bowl and stick of incense out of his robe. After lighting the stick he bowed his head in prayer. "May your souls rest in peace" he mumbled.

A few minutes of silence passed before the Hokage sat down next to Kakashi crossing his legs in the process. It reminded Kakashi of how much the Sarutobi clan really acted like their ape-like companions.

"So what did you find down there?"

"Nothing really helpful just a few chakra theories here and there."

Sarutobi nodded knowing from experience how hard it was to find something down there, especially in just three days. "When you're looking for stuff down there it's either hit or miss."

"And I just keep missing eh?" Kakashi let out a hollow chuckle and sucked some air in. "How's Naruto?"

The third's expression changed a bit. "He's better. Extraordinary really if you take into consideration the state he was in at first"

Kakashi tensed a bit. "I sense a but coming..."

The Sandaime nodded slowly and pulled off his hat, twittering it a bit in his fingers. "His tests showed impossible amounts of brain activity." He looked over to Kakashi, only to see the man's visible eye scrunched up in thought.

"Impossible how?"

"His entire brain is eighty-eight percent active." Sarutobi explained.

Kakashi's eye widened. He was no med nin but Kakashi was sure that was definitely not normal. Questions were about to fly out of his mouth a mile a minute when he saw the Sandaime giving him a look. Everything about the old man's face told him not to pry; it was not to be talked about out here.

"Tell me one thing though." At Kakashi's request the older man nodded hesitantly. "Is it putting his life in danger?"

The Hokage shook his head abruptly. "That's just the thing...everything about him is screaming impossible, the burns, the brain activity, just...everything." Sarutobi let out a breath of frustration. "Naruto should not be so healthy just a little over two weeks since it happened, but he is and we can't explain it."

"Do you think..."

"No, we couldn't detect any of _its_ chakra"

Kakashi groaned and banged his head backwards against the stone monument. "Unbelievable, even when he's unconscious he's driving everyone crazy." Inwardly though he was talking to Minato. '_Sensei, your son is going to be the death of me one day.'_

Sarutobi chuckled a bit, but agreed with him all the way.

* * *

_(/\/\/\/\/Fifteen days since failed infiltration – 5:45pm KST/\/\/\/\/)_

Konoha's hospital had long visiting hours; usually they never enforced it unless visitors started causing problems or if the patient requested it. If Naruto was aware of what went on in his room during various hours of the day he would probably fill out a request blind or not.

"I fold." Iruka set down his set of cards on the top of Naruto's ankle.

"What's the matter mama's boy can't take heat?" Anko leered at him, inwardly cheering her full house.

"You have that glint in your eye and it's creepy." Iruka shuddered a bit, not really helping his mama's boy image. They had been playing poker at the edge of Naruto's bed for half an hour now, and so far Anko was leading. "You think it's safe to play here? Aren't we hurting him or something?"

The other four shrugged. Asuma spoke up for them. "They took off the leg bandages already right? So it should be alright...I guess."

"Its just cards anyway, Naruto's youthfulness can take more than that!" Gai had lowered his volume considerably, but was still pretty loud to the others.

Kurenai had tuned them out; she had been in deep thought. Anko had to be bluffing, she just had to be, but what if she actually had a good hand? _'Grr...This is why ninjas can't play this; their poker faces are too good_.' She herself needed just a nine of diamonds for a straight flush with a jack high. Or a nine of any suit for a regular flush.

"What's your verdict Kure-chan, you in or out like mama's boy over there?" Anko interrupted her thoughts with a taunt.

Before she could answer Iruka groaned. "Okay, okay, I get it I'm too old to live with my mother, but I can't afford much on a Chunin pay while taking this little terror out for ramen." He gestured to the white haired Naruto who was snoring slightly.

"Hmm, what ever happened to taking your Jounin exams this year?" Asuma took a drag of his cigarette. He had made sure not to go near the smoke detector, they had already gotten in trouble for his smoking twice today...and three strikes meant they were out.

Iruka darted his eyes around the room. "I kinda wanted my go at teaching at the academy for a while" His eyes landed on Naruto. "But, maybe I should take the test after all." Iruka had wanted to teach the class Naruto would be in, but now it didn't even look as if he would get put into a class.

"Academy? You do know if you end up there you would be teaching along side your mother...not really helping your image here." Anko pointed out. "Besides they raised the graduating age, you'd be stuck with the brats till they turn thirteen."

"I think it's a fantastic idea! If I was a Chunin I would be teaching tomorrow's bright pupils myself!" Gai set a few cards down, not noticing the grimaces on everyone's faces when they thought of Gai teaching young impressionable ninja.

Kurenai allowed herself to smirk in Iruka's direction. "Well, I guess this means I'll be promoted before you then" She hadn't taken her Jounin exam yet either, but was planning to as soon as she was ready.  
"I'm _thinking_ about it. Keyword, _thinking._" Iruka grumbled, amusing everyone else in the room.

A voice from the door way caught their attention. "Hmm, you guys playing poker without me? I'm hurt." Kakashi looked into the room and saw his friends using his adoptive brother as a table. Iruka and Gai were seated on the left side of the end of the bed, while Kurenai and Asuma leaned over the foot board. He sighed when he noticed the only free spot was the one beside Anko, but groaned when he saw that all the chairs were gone...well there was one...

In the back corner of the room was an innocently placed mobile urinal. It was a simple and _empty_ thing that looked too much like a chair. Basically it was a potty with four, two foot tall legs, of which the back two had wheels. Grudgingly Kakashi grabbed it and rolled it over to the right side of Naruto next to Anko, all the while ignoring everyone's laughter.

"Nice of you to finally join us pervert...comfy?" Anko teased.

"Very much, thank you." he replied sarcastically. "Deal me in would you?"

Asuma nodded and passed Kakashi some cards. Sure they had a lot of questions for the man, but the dazed look in his eyes showed his internal conflict, it wasn't a good time to pry. Other than everyone accusing Kakashi of cheating, the rest of the night was some what anticlimactic.

* * *

Every single memory Naruto had was playing. Some he remembered some he didn't. It was odd how some would slow down and others would just zoom by. At first he figured that those were the important ones, but when random scenes of the village and its surroundings started to go in slow motion he dismissed the idea.

In each of the memories except for one or two he was looking at a younger version of himself, except with blond hair. That confused him the most, but he had to admit he liked how he looked as a blond, it went well with orange.

The memories he hated reliving the most were the painful ones. They were the ones that happened when Kakashi was usually out on a mission and he was left all alone. Kids wouldn't play with him, adults wouldn't acknowledge him, and the people who did care about him had other things to do.

Helplessly, he watched as older kids teased him and parents pulled any potential friends away. He heard all the whispers again, the ones they thought he wouldn't hear but always did.

_'Stay away he's dangerous.'_

_'The Yondaime went through all that trouble just so a living monster would walk among us.'_

_'He's going to snap, we all know it.'_

_'Stay away!'_

_'That thing almost killed us all and yet we let it live with us.'_

_'Monster.'_

Naruto was angry! He never did anything, he just wanted to be accepted, liked, maybe even loved. Why did they fear him? What did he ever do? He wanted to be the Hokage just to show this village that he would never harm them. This was his home and he would protect it with his life, why couldn't they see that?

* * *

**Uhh...not to happy with what I wrote, it was pretty boring and didn't flow well in my opinion, but hey I needed to write something. Its a filler anyway...can't really just jump into training.**

**This week has been...blah...really though, barely anyone's updating so I wasn't really in the mood to write, which is unfair to you guys I know. But part of the thing that gets me 'in the zone' is reading a great update or a good story, and also I couldn't really find much that would make me go 'wow' Either that or I wasn't looking hard enough.**

**School...hmm... I think the pressure of STAR exams are starting to get to me. They go on transcripts now! Geez, really though I started dreaming about logarithms the other night, not something I look forward to. **

**This story is suppose to be in Naruto's point of view most of the time with a chunk of Kakashi, but it just didn't work out that way in this chapter. Eventually (next chapter) Naruto will come into play more. **

**Leave me your reviews, they help me get into a writing mood when no one updates, really they do.**

**-Nicx Vee**

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**This chapter has been beta-ed (sp?) as of 4/28/08.**

**School is finally starting to slow down a bit for me, but I have state testing this week :(...So I think my updates will be once a week from now until summer...BUT!! If I have some spare time _and_ if I feel like writing, I might just update faster.**

**Warning: This chapter contains spoilers for magna chapter 398**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't receive a paycheck for any of this. Which probably means that _Kishimoto_ owns it all.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8

'No. Not this again. Anything but this.' But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the memories to stop. The faces flashed, the conversations echoed, the laughter boomed.

"_Shhh! We're in a library Naruto; you're going to get us in trouble." A voice scolded._

"_Geez, you're such a party pooper." Naruto said and stuck his tongue out at his friend. _

It was **his **face again. The one with abnormally pale skin, black eyes and a head full of ebony hair. The face's voice echoed in his mind. Naruto did not want to watch this again, he had worked too hard to lock all these memories away. But it wouldn't stop, the flashbacks just kept coming. One after the other like an assembly line of toy soldiers eating away at his heart.

"_Tsk, Naruto your doing it wrong, you draw what you see not what you know." The slightly older boy allowed himself to smile at the five year old Naruto as he corrected the younger boy's mistakes. That Naruto looked so happy, having fun, so carefree. _

"No! Don't! Get away from him, he'll just leave you!" Somewhere Naruto knew that no matter how much he screamed to his younger self nothing would change, he would still disappear, but he could at least try. "Baka! Don't let him in; don't let him be your friend you're better off!" His efforts were all in vain and he was forced to watch _that_ moment again.

_Naruto sat in his room at Houka orphanage frowning as he watched kids play outside through the window. _

"_Your face will get stuck if you keep doing that" Naruto's white tipped head swiveled to look at his friend. The other boy had a smirk on his face and books in his hand. _

"_Why aren't you outside too?"_

"_I don't feel like it, why aren't you...?"_

"_They don't like me. No one but niisan does." Naruto pouted turning away from the other boy._

_Black orbs shifted slightly as he watched his roommate visibly sag in sadness. He fidgeted a bit before speaking. "I'll be your friend."_

Naruto just stopped. No more yelling. No more fighting. Seeing that again made his vision blur. He had forgotten how good it was to have a friend. It had been so many years since he had first shunned out anyone else who tried, and even if it really was just a memory...it made him feel good. So he let the memories take their course and watched as a helpless passenger.

_Kakashi's missions started piling up one after the other. This one was by far the longest since Naruto turned two. He would be gone for a whole six months to Snow Country, something about guarding a princess or whatever. Naruto knew that it was all part of the ninja job, but it still didn't make him feel any less lonely._

_Naruto himself had resorted to following his black haired friend like a sick puppy. Often times dragging the other boy into tons of trouble. "Naruto stop someone's coming!" _  
_The two froze, slowly edging themselves away with their backs pressed up into the walls. Naruto had cooked up yet another stupid scheme and now they were going to get caught... _

_Foot steps echoed down the corridor and they dashed out of the place. In a blur of movement they found themselves half-way down the block panting and gasping for breath. The boy glared at Naruto who was now rolling on the floor in laughter. They were one mistake away from being caught red handed, literally. _

_But the boy couldn't hold in his own laughter, especially not after seeing the three men barge out of the place covered head to toe in red, well two out of the three anyways. They had hidden up on the branch of a nearby tree and watched between giggle fits as the colourful men dashed in the wrong direction looking for them. _

There was a wistful smile on Naruto's face as he watched. He had forgotten what it was like to have a friend his own age, one that he could drag into trouble, one that was always there and not on a mission half the time. Another part of him was scowling, sure it was fun back then, but could he really trust another person to latch onto his emotions like that? Friends were a great thing to have he'd admit it in a heartbeat, but letting them in to close...and all of it would just lead you to pain.

Before he could lose himself in his dark thoughts everything disappeared. No more memories, no more nothing. Just whiteness...again. "I'm_ really_ getting sick of this." He mumbled and flopped down onto the 'floor' and crossed his legs. There was no use in exploring the place, he just _knew _that all it was, was just one big never-ending void.

"You're partly correct." Naruto's eyes widened as he swiveled his head to look in the direction of the voice. With his eyes wide and mouth gaping the man smiled softly at him. "It ends...eventually; you just have to find it."

Naruto scowled he was caught with his emotional barrier down, something he swore he wouldn't do in front of anyone but Kakashi. "Who are you supposed to be and what the heck you doing here-No, wait. Where the hell _is_ here?" The black haired man standing in front of him seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before finally flopping down himself across from Naruto in a sitting position.

"So many questions from one so young." He said still smiling and resting his palms onto the knees of his black pants.

"And you're still not answering any of them." He quipped. Still not trusting the man.

To his credit the man raised a black brow and crossed his arms over his red chest armour. "You cannot force me to answer them anyways. Why don't we talk first?"  
"What else am I supposed to do talk about how great the sky looks in here?!" Naruto raised a hand and pointed toward the blank white 'sky'. "Could you at least tell me your name then? Or is that too much for you?" Naruto rested his chin in his palms that were propped up by his arms that rested on his knees.

If this boy was trying to get under the man's skin it was working.

The man's brow ticked. "Has anyone taught you to respect your elders boy?"

"Plenty o' times, but that doesn't mean I listened...besides you haven't earned it, I don't even know who the hell you are!" Naruto barked then he blinked when the man started to chuckle.

"You remind me of someone I once knew. I'm going to take a random guess here and say that you wouldn't respect me even if I said I was the greatest ninja ever."

"Well, you're not, the Fourth was and I'm going to surpass him." The boy pointed out. "Can we just get on with this already...what is _this _anyway?"

The man in front of him ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep aggravated breath. "Well first things first, my names Senju Hashirama, and yours would be?"

"Uzumaki Naruto" The boy nodded his head and continued to stare at Hashirama. "You have a long name Rama-san, but I've never heard of you before, so you're probably not even that great."

The man sweat dropped. This was the boy that almost went into a mental breakdown moments ago? "You can call me Senju-san, or something. It's been a while since someone has called me Hashirama." In fact no one had called him by either of his real names in decades. How many years had passed anyway?

"Okay...where you from Rama-san?" Naruto asked pointedly ignoring the man's suggestion. He saw the man blinking rapidly at him and decided to comment. "What? You said 'or something...'"

Hashirama shook his head what he had seen of how Naruto had acted while viewing his past and how he was acting now lead him to three conclusions. The kid was either bi-polar, messed up in the head, or good at hiding his emotions. Maybe even all three. "I guess that's fine...You want to know where I'm from, eh? How 'bout this, we play a game first."

Naruto's eyes lit up at the mention of the word. "Okay! Okay! Tell me rules." He nodded his head excitedly.

'Definitely messed up in the head...but aren't we all deep down.' Hashirama mused. "Simple. You ask a question and I answer, then I ask a question and you answer."

Naruto slouched and narrowed his eyes. "That's not a game! It's a mutual interrogation!" He accused and pointed a finger at the man. Inside he was already calculating, a lot of people underestimated Naruto, thinking that he was just a little kid blind to the world's lies. Nope, sorry bub if you did that you would be out of luck.

Kakashi and even Gai always taught him better. They had indirectly shaped his mind to a sharp edged weapon. Those books Kakashi had bought weren't always just a distraction tool, but were used to mold his mind into thinking like a ninja before molding his body. Naruto was a sponge when it came to books, soaking everything up from jutsu to interrogation.

Hashirama's eyes widened a fraction, but it was barely noticeable to Naruto. This was a boy, a _child_ sure when he was a child there was fighting all around, but they usually sheltered everything like that from children. His hands shot up and he waved them defensively. "I'm not trying to learn your village secrets or anything; if I did don't you think I would have gone to someone other than a _civilian_ child."

Pausing, Naruto took a moment to consider this. "You gots' yourself a point there...what kind of questions were you gonna' ask anyways?"

The older man shrugged. "Dunno, just a bit about you and a few other things here and there...you got a problem with that?"

There was a brief moment of silence while Naruto thought and then he finally spoke. "It depends on what kind of questions I can ask you."

Through blue eyes Naruto watched as the man smiled and scratched his head. "You would make a good ninja you know that?" Hashirama started to chuckle a bit as Naruto blushed and rubbed his neck sheepishly. Clearly the boy wasn't used to being complimented. "Sure, we'll start with simple questions and if one of us asks something that we feel is too deep then we can stop...but if one of us asks a question that can be regarded as such but the other still answers, then whoever answers can ask a question of the same level and it _must _be answered...do you follow?" He got a few blinks in return before the boy finally followed what he said.

Naruto sat up a bit sensing the serious tone this man was taking. "How would we know if one of us lies?"

"We can't" The man answered honestly, making Naruto's eyebrows knit together.

"Is that even possible?"

Hashirama sighed and leaned back a bit leaning on his palms that were pressed up into the ground behind him. A few moments of silence passed before he finally looked skywards into the blankness. "Okay, first question goes to you then." Naruto was about to retort and say that he didn't even agree to this but a quick hand silenced him. "This place" Hashirama gestured around. "Isn't like others. We're in what you could call limbo, but it isn't exactly that...it's...more complicated than that. Way more complicated than I can explain to you at the moment. You see Naruto, we can't lie here, and don't ask me why, it's just a law, just like how everything is affected by gravity."

Naruto didn't buy it, he still didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, and his eight year old body couldn't throw a full grown man that far. "Prove it" he ordered in an unconvinced voice.

Hashirama grunted and sat up to look the boy straight in the eye. "Fine. I'm bald." after uttering the last word a line appeared between the two, Naruto's side of the line was white but Hashirama's side of the void was pitch black. "See? I really have a full head of long black hair" He drawled and his side of the plain turned white once more.

"So you _can_ lie, but the place changes if you do and changes back when you tell the truth." Naruto deducted.

Hashirama smiled and patted the top of Naruto's head, much to the protest of boy. "Ding, ding, ding, we got ourselves a winner here." Naruto scowled at the man's sarcasm and swatted the hand away. Hashirama went back to the position of resting his hands on his knees. "Okay, my turn...What village are you from?"

"Konoha." The boy answered, and the man nodded slowly. "I go now, right?"

Naruto got a nod in response, but the man didn't really hear him. In truth Hashirama had lost himself in the memories of the village.  
"-ere? Hey! You listening to me?" Naruto stared into the man who gave a slight sorry before asking for the question again. "I said: Why is it all white in here?"

The man in front of him patted the white 'ground' "Ah, that's a good question. The white represents purity. Just by being here proves that you have a pure, untainted soul. It's why we can't lie, Kami-sama made this plain that way." Naruto nodded and accepted the information and motioned for the man to continue. "Why do you think you're here?"

"Uhh...I don't know am I dead?" Naruto scratched his head. "Wait. Does that answer also count as my question? Gah! I just asked another question." Naruto groaned he just asked two questions in a row, and one of them was completely pointless.

Hashirama watched the boy with piercing eyes. Naruto was hiding his emotions, that much was for sure. There was a slight crack in the child's voice when he first spoke about being dead. Not that the Senju man could blame him, from what he had known the child had gone through multiple traumatizing events through his life. "No Naruto, you're not dead, but you were close to it." The man stood up and motioned for the boy to do the same. "This game isn't really helping that much, is it?"

"You got that right." He huffed back. Naruto stood up and followed the man as they wandered through the blankness. "Where are we going?"  
"Patience is a virtue child, just wait a moment." And wait they did.

After what seemed like forever a door suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a simple blue wooden entrance carved out with strange designs. The tall man reached out and opened it and suddenly they were both pulled into yet another strange place.

A bright light flashed against Kakashi's eyes and immediately he looked around frantically. He was under the village again looking through scrolls and old books when it happened.

Years of ninja training had forced his senses to high alert. There was no way for the seals to light up as bright as they did unless someone fed chakra into them, but that was just the thing. No one in Konoha currently had access to the place besides him and Sarutobi. Sure there were the Sannins but neither of them had stepped foot inside the village in years.

There was a slight chance that it could be the Sandaime, but the Hokage was meeting with the council discussing Konoha's new threat. He was also pretty sure that Sarutobi wouldn't do something like that without a purpose, so what was it?

The light slowly faded, but down the corridor it was still bright. Taking out a kunai, Kakashi ran out of the current room and through the passageway to try and find the source before the walls would shift.

After five minutes of running he found himself in the labyrinth's first room. This was the original hideaway of the Shodai Hokage and he used it for personal purposes when Konoha was newly built. Kakashi had been here once before and found many Senju clan scrolls, but he couldn't use any of their techniques.

Moving quickly, Kakashi grasped a kunai and exposed his Sharingan. The famed eye didn't help him though because what was happening in front of him could be seen by the naked eye. On the floor of the room was a large glowing crystal and surrounding it were rings of seals. There were no traces of people though, so he took a step into the room cautiously.

The crystal glowed a pure white before flashing rapidly. _Blue. Red. Yellow. Brown. Grey. _It continued flashing through the sequence glowing brighter and brighter with each completion. Finally the entire room was engulfed in a sea of colours and when it finally faded Hatake Kakashi had disappeared.

**Erm, yea left you guys on sort of a cliffy there, and hopefully my brain won't be to tired to type up chapters this week.**

**Any guesses on whats gonna happen? Huh? Huh? Well tell me about it and review!**

**Usually I'd add something here...but I'm drawing a blank so...yeaaa. RxR. (btw that means read and _review_. Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge. You get where I'm going with this right?)**

**-Nicx Vee**


	9. Chapter 9

**HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Here's the latest update for you. It hasn't been beta'd yet...and I know I've been doing that alot lately, but when I finish a chapter I just want to post it, I'm just weird like that...but its a good thing y'kno? Cause I won't hold my chapters for ransom for reviews like some people...**

**This chapter has been beta-ed by Demion**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my plot.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Naruto followed Hashirama through the blue door and was assaulted with a heavy mist that obscured his vision. He squinted his eyes, but couldn't even see two inches in front of him. Looking down he tried to find the ground, but could only see the top of his blue shirt. Finally he had enough of this and called out. "Hey Rama-san! What gives! I can't see a thing!"

The slight pause made Naruto think he was alone again, but finally Hashirama's voice broke through the dense fog. "Of course you can see Naruto, you're just not trying." He replied.

"What the hell do you mean by that! No-one can see through this fog without those freaky Hyuuga eyes or sumthin'..." Naruto's head swiveled while he was talking, trying to figure out what direction the man's voice had come from.

The Senju man hmm'd as he watched Naruto take a few cautious steps in the opposite direction. "Naruto, if you can find me I'll explain everything to you, but you will never be able to truly see using your eyes alone."

"How the hell am I supposed to see then?" The boy swung his body in another direction, he was almost sure the man's voice had come from here, using his eyes he willed them to see beyond two inches...but no that didn't work.

All that did was cause Hashirama to sigh exasperatedly; the white haired boy was just walking farther away. He finally had enough of this. "Boy, you aren't listening, everything's right here you're just not opening up to it."

Naruto barked back at him. "Gah! Stop speaking in riddles!" He closed his eyes to try and hear the man better. Naruto knew the inside of his eyelid well, but this wasn't what he expected. The colours flashed in his mind a stunning contrast to the black screen that usually came with closed eyes. "What the hell!?" he yelled getting frustrated.

"Good, you're getting it, not the way I hoped...but it's a start." Hashirama nodded slightly to himself. "Now tell me Naruto, can you hear them? Do you feel it coursing through you? You have been given a glimpse, but the rest is up to you to harness."

Naruto shook his head, he was getting nervous. "Who are you? And why are you doing this to me! Just leave me alone!" The shock was finally getting to him, it was just like getting an injury, it doesn't hurt at first, but give it a while and it'll make itself known.

Hashirama raised his voice. "Calm down." It was loud, but clipped. "You want to be a ninja right?" Naruto's head nodded in the distance. "Well then start acting like one."

"Wha-"

"Don't interrupt." He sighed and looked at Naruto who was facing him with closed eyes, it made him smile. "A ninja doesn't let his emotions cloud his thoughts, a ninja doesn't panic, a ninja does not show fear." Naruto's face was blank, but his posture was speaking for him. With his shoulders drooped, ashamed of himself. Hashirama cleared his throat before he continued. "But...a ninja is also a human."

Naruto looked up and opened his eyes, he still saw the fog but this time there was a light blue outline in the shape of Hashirama in the distance. His feet moved slowly, but surely, and then he stopped. There in front of him was Hashirama's smiling form, and suddenly a picture flashed through his mind. One face out of four carved on a mountain. "I found you...Hokage-sama." He whispered, and the foggy void changed.

* * *

"_Kakashi..."_ A voice whispered.

The silver headed Jounin was lying on his back unconscious.

"_Wake up..." _There was a slight nudge to the man's side as the voice spoke up a little louder. "YOU LAZY PERVERT WAKE THE HELL UP!" the voice finally screamed.

A single eye snapped open and its owner's hand instinctively reached for a kunai. Kakashi jumped up from the ground and landed slightly crouched and ready to strike. His single eye scanned his surroundings, but it went wide when it finally landed on something.

Standing nonchalantly against a rock was none other than Uchiha Obito. He stared back at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow. "What? Nothing to say to your ol' pal? Geez, you know I pictured this moment to be more...dramatic." He gave a sad smile to his friend.

Kakashi shook his head and mumbled something incoherent before finally lifting his hands into a seal. "Kai" He whispered.

Obito looked bored. "Uh no, I'm not a genjutsu." He picked at his orange and black clothing a bit and adjusted his goggles. One of his eyes was closed at all times. "C'mon you prick not even a 'Hi Obito how's being dead treating you?'" he asked sarcastically.

"You're not real." Kakashi finally spoke. "And who ever is doing this, doesn't have any respect for the dead."

"Oi! I'll have you know I have plenty of respect for the dead, well maybe not everybody, some people here are even bigger pricks than you were." Obito was aware of how his old team-mate flinched, but ignored it as he stared up into the _orange_ sky. "Kakashi, this is serious, and I don't know how I'm going to prove to you that I'm...uh...well me...but you have to believe me."

If Kakashi bought a word he was saying, it didn't show. While the imitation talked he silently observed his surroundings. They were in a rocky field that painfully reminded him of the day he received his Sharingan eye. An orange sky littered with white clouds contrasted to the blue sun. On the floor blue wooden posts jutted out of the dirt. "This place is making it hard to believe anything."

The supposedly dead Obito looked a bit sheepish before finally glaring into Kakashi's eye. "Look jackass, I don't care if it's believable or not." He charged forward. "If you won't believe me I'll make you!" Obito's black eye turned red as he activated his two-tomoed Sharingan.

Kakashi reacted by pulling up his forehead protector and exposing his own three-tomoe Sharingan. It was all Obito needed.

All of a sudden the two Sharingan eyes locked and the ground disappeared. Kakashi started to fall, and tried desperately to grab onto something. Obito grabbed his ankle and held the Jounin upside down while he hovered over nothingness. He smiled down at his still alive team-mate. "See, now you have no choice but to trust me." He almost chipped.

Kakashi growled "What did you do?"

"You're on my turf now Kakashi, I control this place, so shut up and listen so we can finally get somewhere!" He gave the Jounin a good shake as he held onto the man's ankle.

Kakashi struggled, but found it almost impossible to move. "Fine. I'm listening" He grunted. The twelve year old form of his team-mate grinned before snapping his fingers.

And just like that, the ground came back.

Obito released the grip he had on the man's ankle making Kakashi fall. The Jounin flipped and landed on his feet, by the time he looked up and gathered himself (in less than a second) Obito was already yawning and sitting cross-legged on top of a pillow just a few feet away. "C'mon we don't have all day!" he commented.

Kakashi decided to play along and sat across from him, never once letting his guard down. "Talk." He said simply.

"You would think that a guy would change over time." Obito murmured, but Kakashi just looked at him with one eye. "Okay, okay let's see, where do we start this..." He stroked his chin drifting off in thought.

* * *

Naruto stared in awe as the mist cleared. The Shodai was still standing in front of him, but just a few feet away on top of a running river. He looked to the right of the man and saw a gigantic waterfall in the distance. "Congratulations Naruto...you found me." The Shodai finally spoke with a smile as he gestured to the jungle around him.

Naruto took it all in, from the tall trees, to the exotic plants, to the fresh crisp breeze. "W-where are we?" He breathed out in awe. "It's so beautiful."

The Shodai gave a short chuckle as he too looked the place over. "This is my domain Naruto, my inner essence if you will." he explained.

Naruto nodded and turned to Hashirama giving the man his full attention. "You said you'd tell me everything Rama-san."

"Yeah, I remember...don't worry about that." Hashirama motioned for Naruto to come closer toward the river. "Come. I've got to show you something." Naruto walked towards him but stopped at the edge of the water. "Keep going boy, don't stop now."

Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy. "You expect me to know how to walk on water? I'm not even an academy student yet!"

"Just do it Naruto all you have to do is trust me, the water, and most of all yourself." The man's brown eyes bore into Naruto willing him on.

The boy hesitantly placed one foot on the water, but it sank through. He looked up at the former Hokage and gave the man a pointed look.

The Shodai sighed and explained. "You're not trusting anyone by doing that Naruto, you have to learn to trust the water as if it's part of you, but before you do that you have to trust yourself." The man tapped his foot a bit causing ripples to go through the slow moving river.

Naruto closed his eyes and tried again, but his foot was still soaked. "I can't...I can't trust you...I can't trust anyone." He opened his eyes and looked at the Shodai. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"You've changed, but at the same time you haven't." Obito was finally taking things seriously.

"I could say the same things for you...you know _if _you really were Obito." Kakashi replied, his eye lazy once again.

Obito nodded and understood. "What would it take to prove to you I was real, and this isn't a genjutsu?"

Kakashi paused and thought for a moment. "It would be rather hard, for all I know you could be some random nin peering through my memories and manipulating them like little puppets."

Obito groaned. "You know what; this is why I didn't want to be the one who explained all this shit to you!" He pointed a finger. "You're filled with even more bull than you were before! Would it kill you to forget thinking about everything so analytically and be normal for once?!" He took a few breaths before speaking in a more calmed tone. "When I died you probably went on about how it was all my fault and-" Obito stopped when he felt a spike of killer intent, he looked over at Kakashi who was glowering at the ground.

"Shut up." He spoke quietly. Kakashi's shoulder's trembled. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He yelled as he pounded his fist into the ground, making small craters wherever it landed. "You have no right!" He raised his head slowly to give the coldest glare Obito had ever received. "You know nothing!"  
Obito felt the coldness in the air, how was this possible? Kakashi was controlling his own void!

"Kakashi calm down!" he went too far, how was he supposed to know that his ex-team-mate took his death that hard?

It was as if Kakashi didn't even hear him. "You died! Do you have any idea what that did to me?! It was my entire fault! Do you know how many 'what ifs' ran through my head?! Do you know what you made not just me, _but_ the whole team go through?! And worse, it was all because of me!" Kakashi took deep breathe, the stress was getting to him, he had never been able to unload his emotions before, and now it was all coming out. "I practically _killed_ you! Sensei trusted _me _to protect you guys and I failed. He trusted me _again_ to protect his only son and I failed again!"

Obito felt like slapping himself, he had gotten over his death years ago, and was comfortable enough to joke around with it, but _obviously_ not everyone was. "Kakashi! It wasn't your fault!"

"Don't!" Kakashi stopped from continuing and pulled off his own forehead protector revealing his Sharingan eye. "H-how could you trust me with this? I don't deserve this eye Obito; I should have been the one under the boulder. You were a better shinobi, you-" He was cut off as a foot collided with his face.

"You freaking crybaby! Don't you hear yourself?!" Obito kicked him again in the gut, sending Kakashi flying against one of the blue jutting stumps. "What the hell happened to you Kakashi?! I know you were a cold bastard, but I never knew you held onto the past like a stubborn wuss!" He pulled out a kunai and charged.

Kakashi was almost caught off guard again, but pulled out his own kunai and the two weapons clashed. Currently Kakashi had the advantage; his form was much larger than Obito's twelve year old appearance.

Obito flipped back and kicked Kakashi away. Kakashi blocked with his arm and jumped back as well.  
Obito recovered first and threw six shuriken and flashed through a sequence of handseals. "**Kage Shuriken no Jutsu"** his voice rang through. The six turned into six dozen.

With his hands blurring in movement Kakashi went through his own seals. "**Doton: Doryuu Heki" **he called out. A wall of green-coloured earth sprang from the ground and intercepted the cloned shuriken.  
Before the Jounin could rest Obito came charging again...but he was different. Instead of seeing the twelve year old form of his dead team-mate he saw a man his own age. Obito now stood only slightly shorter than Kakashi and his single eye spun wildly with a three-tomoed Sharingan.

He didn't give the silver-headed man much time to get used to his new appearance, and just charged. Punches were thrown and blocked. Their Sharingan's read each other's movements, leaving them deadlocked.

Obito kicked, Kakashi dodged.

Kakashi punched, Obito blocked.

Instincts took over as Kakashi grabbed Obito's ankle and swung the man into the direction of a large green rock. Obito ricocheted off the stone and used the momentum to power-up his barrage of kicks and punches, enough to send the Jounin flying away for a few brief moments.

The copy-nin went through a few wooden blue posts before finally skidding to a stop. He seemed to faze out of existence for a moment before appearing behind Obito, initiating his own assault. Both fighters blurred as they exchanged blows with each other.

No jutsu was used anymore; this fight was to be settled through hand-to-hand combat. Every punch, every kick, every hit was speaking more levels than words ever could.

An elbow rammed into Obito's stomach. '_I'm sorry._'

A knee collided with Kakashi's back, making him tumble forward. _'It's not your fault.'_

They continued the fighter's dance. Swapping and exchanging blows, the epitome of a shinobi's strength. This fight was not being fought as enemies, but as rivals, equals...brothers.

Both were getting weary and drenched with a mixture of blood and sweat. The two jumped away for a moment, each landing in their own battle stance. Their fight had dragged on longer than one could remember. Obito was sporting a torn black and orange suit and Kakashi's vest was unrecognizable.  
With a cry the two charged and moments later they landed with a reverberating thump, knocked away by the crash of each other's chakra induced fists.

* * *

**Well...another fight scene, my second one really. Hopefully they're getting better, but if their not...give me some tips.**

**This chapter was...odd, I didn't even really think much, it just sort of came out. Anyone ever have that happen? Your writing and suddenly your fingers start moving subconsciously? Yes? No? Seriously, I didn't really intend for Kakashi to have that break down, or even to write a fight scene it just...happened. **

**(Sigh) I blame it all on testing...but I like this chapter and hopefully you will too.**

**Ergh...yea I'm not really getting any vibes for posting a witty remark on here today...but!...Theres a poll on my bio about pairings that I _might _be considering..._might._**

**TTFN...RxR! (Ta Ta For Now...Read _and Review_)**

**-Nicx Vee**


End file.
